Refugees and Kings
by Aeoliander
Summary: The only ones who can prevent war between Gaea and the Mystic Moon are Hitomi and her twin children. Well, it'll probably happen anyways if Duke Chid of Freid can't get control of his nobleman, Constantine Ganix.... [Ch. 3 Experimental Seer]
1. Prologue: Home

AN: Welcome to my first fanfic! I hope you enjoy! Be sure to read, review, and be ruthless.

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**Refugees and Kings**

**Prologue: Home**

* * *

His last straggling students finally gone, Myoujin Daisuke locked the dojo entrance behind him. He rolled his sore shoulder with a grunt then stepped onto the dirt path leading to the shrine on the nearby hill. There, he could forget how much his aging bones ached after the longer sessions with his students.

That evening a warm breeze flowed from the south, tugging at his loose hakama and blowing freshly fallen leaves across his path. This was one of the few places left in that part of the city that still had trees, a kind of park under Myoujin's protection from any developer that might show too much interest in the area. As such, he made sure to enjoy the setting as often as possible and run his students up and down some of the steeper paths even more frequently.

Despite the ever-present glow from the city, the moon dominated the sky. Myoujin paused a moment on the path to gaze upwards, wondering how it could be so bright.

A shift in the wind pulled his thoughts from the moon, carrying with it a scent at first so faint he couldn't be sure what he smelled then growing stronger. Out of some instinct Myoujin turned into the wind.

"Ugh," he nearly gagged on the mingling scent of burning flesh and wood before he could clamp his sleeve over his mouth and nose. "What is-"

The air exploded, nearly knocking him to the ground.

A lifetime of training driving him, Myoujin dropped into a crouch, his hand ready to free his sword from its scabbard at the first need. The moon began to weep and flow the path with blinding tears. He squinted into the silver light cut into long arcing shafts by the trees. His hand faltered as his vision cleared.

A young woman knelt among the star fall in the middle of the path. The air calmed in her presence and with it returned his sense of hearing. The bundle she held in her arms screamed with the fury of a terrified child. Judging by her flowing dress, Myoujin might have wondered if she was from one of the fantasy stories his students always brought into the dojo were it not for the very real looking dark stain spreading down from her shoulder across her abdomen.

The realization that the woman was wounded pushed Myoujin through his shock. Still working off reflex, he rushed to her side. "What- what happened!

To his surprise, she hardly seemed to recognize his existence. Her expression collapsed into panic. Stunned tears ran from her emerald eyes as she stared through Myoujin, capturing the glow of the moon to her cheeks. She cast about desperately with her free arm to search the empty ground for something precious.

"Val," she gasped, fighting back sobs, "Val! Where are you!"

"Hold still!" Myoujin barked, trying to get at her shoulder, "You're losing too much blood!"

She thrust his hands away with more strength than he would have thought her capable of with her slender frame. She tilted her face to the stars to glare at them in accusation. Her scream turned to words only at its most piercing, "VAL!"

With that cry, she set the air around them ablaze once more.

Guessing what to expect this time, Myoujin threw up his arm to shield his eyes. He willed the lady to disappear again with the light, to slip back into his imagination like a strange dream so he could wake up the next morning and wonder where such ideas came from.

The light faded. The child the woman held stilled wailed.

_Damn it! This can't be happening. I'm old but I can't be loosing my mind yet!_

Instead, when he lowered his arm, a new shadow stood not far off the path among the oak trees. Myoujin felt his hand move once more to his sword, wondering what else the night would bring.

Apparently unaware of the threat of Myoujin's sword, the shadow stepped onto the path, the remaining moonlight revealing him to be a young boy. He also held a child in his trembling small arms. He could not have been even seven years old yet he sported a gash across his forehead that would have suited a grown warrior. Blood dribbled across the left half of his face, his lips set in a line of grim satisfaction.

"Val!" the young woman cried when she saw what he held, sounding as surprised to see him as Myoujin was.

The sound of the woman's voice pushed the boy forward, even though he was already swaying on his feet. He struggled through the few steps towards the lady and collapsed onto his knees at her side. "I have her," he breathed, "She's here."

Taking both children in her arms, the woman was no longer able to hold back her sobs. These two were no threat to Myoujin. His sword forgotten, he approached the boy to inspect the cut on the boy's forehead. Myoujin needed something concrete he could do; something tangible to help these people. He couldn't just let them sit helpless in the moonlight, even if they were sake induced figments of the imagination.

"It's not too deep," he said when the boy jerked under his touch. "You'll be all right Kid."

"All right..." the boy repeated, mumbling. Myoujin watched in shock as he touched another stain on his sleeve as though in disagreement. His legs crumpled from beneath him and he collapsed against Myoujin.

"Hey! Hey kid, wake up," Myoujin said as he lowered the boy to the ground, patting his face hard enough to wake anyone. The boy's eyes fluttered once then closed once again. Myoujin turned to the woman. "What's wrong with him!"

She returned his look helplessly, "I- I don't know!"

Myoujin frowned down at the child. There was no sign that he had lost that much blood. He skin wasn't even pale yet. But-

"What the hell!" Myoujin touched the boy's hair just to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light. His hair seemed to be fading from auburn to gray until it started to take on a faint silver sheen.

"Shit," Myoujin hissed under his breath and scooped the boy into his arms. "Miss, can you walk?"

The lady was already behind him, "Go."

* * *

"_So much for Fanelia as it once was."_

Leandros tried to push them back, tried to slip away into a place where dreams were black and held no sound. But the memory of those words pinned him down, forcing him to relive them again and again. Fire surrounded him and he couldn't find any escape.

Perhaps after what he'd seen, he would have submitted to that. Let the fire take him and destroy the memory of his pain. He might have, had he not been responsible for another's life. He couldn't let himself fail again.

"_Hand over the child."_

"_I'll die first!"_

That refusal had earned him the pain he now felt in his right arm. Once again he could only watch as the blade flashed and fell. Once again he heard the scream and wondered if it was his own. Then his dream reminded him of the blood and he knew for sure.

His sword arm was ruined. He shrank away from the ache that testified to that fact.

_Father wants me to learn the sword, to become a knight. How can I face him? How can I tell him that I'll never..._

No. His father was dead, slaughtered by the strangers that had broken into the manor carrying fire. All to give Leandros time to hide.

Leandros owed it to his father to remember what he had been taught. It was his duty as a member of their family to return to the world, not matter what he wanted.

Even if he was going back to a world where he would never be able to see his father again.

Leandros opened his eyes. Somehow he had gotten into a simple room colored in earthy tones and with no kind of door he recognized. He was laid out on the floor. No, not on the floor, he soon discovered there was a kind of mattress beneath him.

Soft fabric rested on his forehead. Someone had bandaged his head and part of the cloth blocked his left eye. Whoever it was must have dressed his arm as well. The searing that had been there before had lessened to a dull throbbing.

An unfamiliar voice was speaking. "...really have to get the both of you to a doctor!"

Yes. They needed dozens of doctors. The manor was burning! Who knew how many people had been hurt!

"No," his lady responded, "No doctors. You've done enough."

Lady Hitomi… He remembered light then... then... Where were they! Leandros attempted to sit up. His parents' screams rang in his ears, sabotaging his efforts. He choked on tears and buried his face in his arms.

He hadn't been able to help them. He failed them. A gentle hand pressed against his shoulder. Incapable of consoling him, it rested there simply as a sign that there was someone who shared pain as deep as his own.

"He will recover fully from the poison soon enough," the stranger's voice said, intruding upon their grief, "Though his hair will stay that same shade the rest of his life."

The fire these words sparked in him finally allowed him to rise. Hitomi's hand fell away as he shot up. Leandros glared furiously in the speaker's direction from red-veined eyes. What did it matter what color his hair was, for Gaea's sake? How could something like that possibly matter in that moment?

A man stood across the room, dressed strangely in what almost looked like robes to Leandros. His hair, still black though he was obviously reaching middle age, was pulled back into a neat pony-tail falling between his shoulders. He returned Leandros' gaze dispassionately. "What's your name Kid?"

Blood flecked the edges of the man's sleeves. Perhaps this was the person who had tended to his wounds? Either way, Hitomi did not appear to be in danger. There was no reason to be suspicious. Leandros responded with the pride he knew his family would have expected of him. "Leandros."

"Leandros," Hitomi murmured, recapturing his ragged attention, "I owe you my Valari's life."

The baby was alive! The news made Leandros dizzy with relief and he made matters worse by shaking his head hastily, "Lady Hitomi, I-" he saw new tears threaten at the edges of his lady's eyes and quickly fell silent.

"You must call me Kanzaki now, Leandros."

"San," the man clarified suddenly. "Say Kanzaki-san if you don't wish to stand out."

"What? Why?" Leandros saw something new form in Hitomi's expression, something beyond her original sorrow. There was pity in her eyes and he didn't like it. "But Kanzaki... san... Aren't we going back?"

Hitomi said nothing. The pity in her eyes remained. Leandros gave into his tears, drowning out anything his lady or the man said afterwards.

* * *

How had this happened?

Hitomi retreated into the unlighted hallway after Myoujin and slid the door shut behind her. But she couldn't go any farther. She could only stare at the door and listen to the boy's muffled sobbing.

"Will he be all right?" she heard Myoujin ask behind her.

He was just echoing one of the many questions gnawing at her already. Her heart seemed determined to tear itself in every direction at once, tormenting her with doubts and possibilities. She and Myoujin had just brought the poor boy back from whatever poison had been in his wound, only for her to break his heart completely.

Hitomi pressed her forehead against the wall.

"I don't know. The transition between worlds..." She was hardly aware of what she was saying but some instinct cut her off, not wishing to put the man who had been kind enough to help her in any danger. Still she could not keep her overwhelmed thoughts from flowing outwards.

"I don't even know who he is but I owe him Val's life. Who are his parents? Where does he live? Is he even old enough to know those things himself?" Hitomi squeezed her eyes shut. "Who has he left behind that's already mourning him for dead?"

There was no way for Myoujin to answer. Instead he watched her with the anxiety of a doctor hovering over a patient about to relapse.

_What am I going to do?_

An answer came the moment she asked the question. Survive. She wasn't out of danger yet. She had no right to worry about anything but their lives. If she fulfilled her debt to him, at least Leandros would still be alive.

Hitomi straightened, motioning apologetically to Myoujin then ducked into the room where Val and Rem slept.

The babies had quieted surprisingly quickly though Hitomi knew they had every reason to be exhausted. She had been darting back and forth every five minutes that night, ignoring Myoujin's protests that she should be resting.

"Kanzaki-san... You're sure about the doctor?" Myoujin said, leaning against the doorframe as he looked in on her.

"Yes. The paperwork," Hitomi said distantly. She was too tired to be amazed that her mind was still able to think of such details. "I don't want the chance of anything getting traced."

Hitomi knelt between the two make-shift cradles made of blankets, content just to gaze at her charges.

"I don't know how I can ever repay you Myoujin-san."

Myoujin rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the door to Leandros' current room. The boy had gone quiet, perhaps once again asleep. In any case, it was best he not be left alone for long.

"Honestly Kanzaki-san, I'm waiting to wake up and be told one of my students finally got a decent strike to my head! I'm not sure you're going to BE here in the morning, let alone repay me for anything I might have done."

_Was it all just a dream?_

Hitomi closed her eyes. She knew that feeling well, the inability to believe at first that what she saw was real. No matter how forcefully her senses were bombarded with tactile experiences impossible even in nightmares, her mind couldn't be sure. It had to be impossible. Her sense of comfort depended on that.

Unsure of how he had caused this new silence in her, Myoujin wavered in the doorway before turning back to Leandros' room. "Just... get some rest."

She could have let him go. She could have left him a few more hours comfort, perhaps one more night of untroubled sleep. But Hitomi didn't have time to dream anymore.

"Myoujin-san!"

To her relief, he halted at her call.

"I'm truly sorry." She lowered her voice to a whisper when Rem started to stir. "But we will still be here in the morning. So, if I could..."

Myoujin waved a hand dismissively. "You're welcome here, Kanzaki-san. The Kamiya dojo has always prided itself on hospitality towards those in need."

* * *

AN: Phew! Thanks so much for reading. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think. Love it/Hated it/Didn't care?

Those of you familiar with the series Rurouni Kenshin might recognize a couple references. Those of you who aren't- don't worry! It's just a cameo performance (this isn't what I'd consider a crossover). I'll make sure you won't have to know anything about the series to enjoy.

Also, credit must be given to my "beta" (for lack of a better description). Thank you my friend. Valari would be nameless without you.


	2. Ch 1: Like Waging War Against the Stars

**Refugees and Kings**

**Chapter One: Like Waging War on the Stars**

**In which one young girl sets out to start another war. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne. The original characters, however, are all my ideas (with some naming help from my beta, thank you!). I'd be flattered if you sued, but please don't.

A/N: Thank you so much to those who reviewed! I'm sorry I took so long to get this chapter out, but hey, I'm still pretty new to this whole posting my stories thing. Oh yeah, college gets in the way a bit too. Forgive?

* * *

_It's all Fanelia's fault._

A new river had been created in the open country side of Freid, one made out of human bodies. They choked the roads when they walked and trampled the ground in massive circles when they camped. The guards complained constantly that there were too many of them. Too many of them to notice one single girl that pushed her way out of the massive line.

Alexandra staggered off the side of the road, choking on the dust that had been rising in the air around her for days. Unconcerned about the stains the trampled grass would leave on the tails of her jacket, she dropped to the ground to clutch at her boots and her aching feet underneath. The boots had once been of the highest quality, constructed by some of the finest artisans in Zaibach, but they had never been designed for this kind of work.

_And Freid and Asturia are feeding like vultures on a fresh kill. _

Trying to bite back a whimper, Alexandra eased off her shoes to inspect the damage. Two more blisters had burst. And if she didn't start moving again soon one of those blasted guards would be around to "help" her along. Tears burned threateningly in Alexandra's eyes as she replaced her boots and hobbled back to her feet.

_Fanelia did this to me. _

The girl slowly waded back into the stream of human bodies. A random violent shove to the shoulder banished her tears and made her grit her teeth. She had to hold her head high. She would bear this pain just like the-

Alexandra's head jerked around at the realization and she hastily surveyed the line of other refugees filing past her. She had lost the professor again.

"Professor!" Alexandra once again rushed out of the ranks and plunged ahead as best she could while limping and stumbling through underbrush.

A sign of so much energy had become like a sin among her fellow refugees and she immediately attracted attention. Some people even shouted as she passed, throwing jibes and curses.

"Now, now. You'll only tarnish that pretty skin!"

"What's the matter? Eager to get there first to the slaughter?"

"Bloody apprentices."

Alexandra ignored them, too focused on trying to find the professor to pay any attention to fools who had once been like dirt beneath her feet. Not more than a week ago they never would have dared speak to an apprentice in the laboratories that way.

An animalistic shriek was the first sign Alexandra had of the danger. Not far off the road on the slopes of the nearby ditch, a group of guards had formed a circle around their victim, laughing and jeering. Nuada was lunging this way and that in the circle, trying to break free and making noises that barely sounded human. The professor was a wisp of a woman, her skin stretched and rubbery with frail-looking bones protruding underneath. Normally the woman could move with the grace of a gentile lady. These curs had her stumbling about like an invalid. Alexandra went blind to everything else.

"Get away from her!" she screamed.

The guards looked up from their sport. One of them turned away from the professor and leered at Alexandra as she ran towards them. "Look here, boys. Like a chick trying to protect the nest."

He was no different from anything else Alexandra had encountered in her new life on the road. For once, she forgot to think of the danger. "Can't you see she's sick?" Alexandra cried and foolishly pushed her way in between the men, trying to grasp hold of the professor's hand. "She doesn't know what she's saying!"

_I'm helpless now but I swear I'll always remember each and every one of your faces. _

"Off of me, Zaibach," one guard snarled, shoving her aside. Alexandra fell with a sharp cry as her wrist twisted beneath her. This time she didn't bother getting up.

In a moment it all came flooding in front of her eyes as though she were back in the besieged city. Distantly Professor Nuada was shouting orders to follow close... Others were screaming in the distance as the soldiers broke through the last few city gates... And then the dagger edge flashing out of nowhere over her head... She never imagined anything could hurt as much as the frayed edge of a severed nerve.

Alexandra stared at her shaking hands, wondering if they were really hers. She held them up for the professor to see and her lips mouthed silent questions. _Are those really connected to me? What's going to happen to us now? When can we go home?_ But all that came out of Alexandra's mouth was a rasping, breathless laugh.

"What's wrong with her?" a younger guard demanded, unable to conceal the quaver in his voice.

"Can't you see she's sick?" Professor Nuada cackled in a mockery of Alexandra's earlier words. "Can't you see she's sick! Sick, sick, sick!"

Apparently it had been enough to scare them off. Alexandra didn't hear the men leave. She was too busy trying to regain control of her breath. All she knew about the world outside her body was that the professor was somewhere nearby. For that she was grateful. It meant she didn't have to worry about the woman running off to provoke another group of guards.

The professor started pacing like a tigress in a cage despite the fact she stood on open ground. The woman's eyes gleamed the same way they had ever since Alexandra had regained consciousness, watching her until Alexandra was sure she would collapse beneath the weight of the woman's gaze. "Where were you?" Professor Nuada snapped.

Alexandra studied her warily. She had come to the conclusion days ago that although Professor Nuada's knowledge was perfectly intact, her reason had crumbled along with the walls of the Imperial Academy of Zaibach. Nuada had never been young, in her early forties at least, but the war had turned her hair shock-white and made her face sag with new wrinkles. She didn't even seem to notice that her big toe was sticking out of her ragged shoe, bruised and scraped beyond identification.

"I apologize," Alexandra said flatly. "I didn't mean to get separated. But why do you keep picking fights with the guards?"

"Dornkirk himself assigned me to my position. I am an instructor of the third class at the Imperial Academy! I demand greater respect from those- those mongrels!" the professor shrieked to no one in particular, shaking her hands at the sky and collecting the blank stares from their fellow refugees. They knew, if Nuada didn't, that she should have been speaking in the past tense.

"Please Professor. You can't say things like that anymore. You can't let them know who we were," the words burned Alexandra's lips, made her want to chew out her tongue and spit it out onto the ground, but she knew that keeping their identities secret had become a matter of life and death. The gash lining Alexandra's forearm, still puckered in stitches and discolored, was proof of this.

She had been lucky enough so far to only receive one of the many favors the Freidan military was handing out to people from the former Zaibach Empire. She saw people every day who were much worse. People who bore wounds of the mind like the professor or people who would likely be dead in a few days from physical ones. Once, Alexandra might have tried to help these others. Now she barely felt she had enough sympathy for herself.

Alexandra had been wounded on the first day of the fighting, during the civilians' desperate retreat behind the walls of the inner capital. It had become apparent to Alexandra a half a day later that the gash was infected but supplies had dwindled during the siege and there was hardly enough fuel to keep people warm, let alone heat water to clean it. Alexandra had watched the discoloration of the infection increase dispassionately, no longer caring whether it took her life or not. She slipped into fever on the second day. When she woke, she found herself among the vast lines of urban refugees being driven like cattle, eventually to be sold as serfs and peasants in the Freid country side.

Professor Nuada had been the one to tell her everything. The Imperial Academy destroyed. Emperor Dornkirk dead. Alexandra would never be able to serve in any of his laboratories. They were already five miles away from what remained of Zaibach's glorious capital with many more to go.

"Please," Alexandra said, keeping her tone reasonable even though her hands were shaking with her fury. "You'll get yourself killed."

_And I still need you. _

Professor Nuada rounded on her suddenly and Alexandra was barely able to keep herself from flinching. "You! Zaibach is our home. How can you disgrace it like this? Are you really so spineless a student?"

Somehow, Alexandra held the woman's gaze this time. "You know that isn't true."

_Please. I need you to teach me what you know. You are all I have left. You are my only chance to learn._

The professor snarled something incomprehensible and went back to pacing. Alexandra took this as a sign that it was safe to stand up and approach. She sighed inwardly as she was met with the now familiar ache inside her boots.

_For now I still need you. But once I don't anymore, you are welcome to do whatever you want to yourself._

* * *

If someone had suggested to Alexandra a month ago that she, an imperial apprentice, would someday be lined up and looked over for sale like a farm animal, she would have been tempted to laugh or spit in that person's face for the insult. Now that same pride was all that kept her standing.

The guards gave them crumbling pieces of hardtack and occasionally there was some kind of broth, but there was barely enough for everyone. Alexandra's stomach gnawed at her insides and her head got lighter and lighter until the only thing holding her to the ground was the drills on the alchemy tables the professor had given her.

"Lead, saltpeter, quicksilver..." Alexandra trailed off, frowning. She couldn't remember the answers anymore. She wasn't sure if she'd ever need to remember these things anyways. For all she knew, she would never be anywhere near a laboratory ever again. The thought made her stomach hurt worse and this time not from hunger.

_We have to stay as close to Zaibach lands as possible_, the professor's instructions whispered in Alexandra's thoughts. _It's all up to you now._

She could hear Lord Ganix moving down the lines, asking curt questions and every once and a while turning to the slave merchant to say he would buy that one. Some individuals he chose struggled and fought, but most trudged into the lord's town in a passive daze. Alexandra tried to block out the sounds, the faces of people she had known back in the capital, some of them desperately trying to stay together with their families.

The girl kept her eyes carefully downcast until the lord's shadow fell over her. Lord Ganix regarded her with sharply angled face and jaw that looked like it had been beaten with a hammer repeatedly in his youth. The man wore a fine linen surcoat over light chain mail and he stood with his hands held behind his back in the military style as he examined her. His pepper gray hair stuck to his head in pasty clumps. Alexandra looked up into his broken face and knew immediately that she despised him.

"She's a pretty one, eh?" the slave merchant trailing behind said but Lord Ganix only gave him a cold glance.

"What trades do you know?" Ganix asked her abruptly, his bright eyes skeptical.

"None, my lord."

"What? Not sewing, weaving?" Alexandra gave a small shake of her head and Lord Ganix snorted, "What kind of female are you? Don't tell me Zaibach was training their women to fight."

"No, my lord."

Ganix turned on the merchant, his face dark. "What is she doing among the skilled workers then? I already told you I don't need anymore unskilled labor. Perhaps I might find I don't have the time to look over the rest of your stock..."

"No, no, Lord Ganix. I can assure that all the merchandise has been sorted correctly." The merchant's apologetic smile disappeared when his gaze fell on Alexandra. "Quickly girl, tell Lord Ganix your skills."

Alexandra had to struggle to find her voice. Stock? Merchandise? She might as well have been a pot or pan. "I can read and write."

"Bah," Ganix started to turn, losing interest. "What use is Zaibach reading and writing on my estate?"

"Including Zaibach, Asturian, _and_ the new Fanelian scripts," Alexandra continued on in a safe monotone as though Lord Ganix had not interrupted her.

"Fanelian?" Ganix's eyes narrowed sharply.

"I am also proficient in geometry, astronomy, and simple medicines." Alexandra failed to mention that she also knew how to whip up an acid that would eat right through Ganix's armored boot.

"I'll take her."

The merchant beamed. "Excellent, my lord. I'm sure we can agree on a fair price. Now, this next one-"

"Please m'lord," Alexandra stepped forward out of line before her chance was gone and that blasted merchant decided to interfere. "Allow her to come with me," she said, gesturing to the small circle where Nuada stood across the street. The professor was being kept with the group that wasn't expected to survive much longer, the ones the merchants weren't even bothering to try to sell.

For the moment, Ganix seemed willing to be indulgent. "She looks like a mad woman," he remarked, following Alexandra's gaze. "Who is she?"

"My mother," Alexandra said without blinking. The professor had had her practice delivering that line the night before until she could convince the rocks. "A-and my tutor. She knows much more than I do and-" Alexandra added hastily, just in case Lord Ganix was smarter than a rock.

"I'm sure I can find some use for the two of you." Lord Ganix snapped his fingers at the servant trailing behind him, "You there, take these two to their new quarters."

The servant bowed hastily to his lord then motioned for Alexandra and Nuada to follow him and quickly. He led them to a steep path that wound into the leafy hillside just outside of town. Alexandra studied her surroundings, trying to convince her numb mind that this was where she was going to live perhaps indefinitely. There were more trees and plants that Alexandra had ever seen during her time in the capital.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To Lord Ganix's manor. There, on top of that crest."

"Strange what they're calling a manor these days. We might have been able to use it as stables for the Academy," the professor said. Alexandra couldn't argue. To her the Freidan mansion looked as backwater as a country farm house and the town below it like something a child might construct out of mud and straw.

The servant eyed the two of them nervously, as though he hadn't realized who he had been escorting. Alexandra resisted the urge to laugh at the look on his face. Then the pounding of horse hooves distracted her from the view of the house above them. She turned to look down into the valley and the road leading into town.

"Keep your eyes down," the servant hissed in warning, cuffing the back of the girl's head. Alexandra did as she was told, but only after she was satisfied with her observations.

The rider at the head of the formation was the only one not wearing a helmet. He was a young man, just out of boyhood really, with long hair darker even than Alexandra's own. Alexandra recognized the symbol on his surcoat as one she had seen on uniforms of some of the soldiers that had invaded the city. He radiated enthusiasm, just as any warrior returning victorious from war should have.

"That's the lord's son, Constantine Ganix," the servant said.

Alexandra was reminded of a certain poison she had never had the chance to try before. Suddenly the consequences didn't seem to matter anymore.

* * *

_It'll be over soon. It'll all be over soon_, Constantine told himself. Normally he prided himself in paying close attention to anything going on in the estate, but haggling the price of extra grain stores with an envoy from a nearby town was near putting him to sleep. And there was no telling what his father would do to him if he actually did fall asleep.

"We're also prepared to make a generous offer for your young scientist," the envoy said after earning a hard fought concession that all but halved the price he would have to pay.

"My what?" Lord Ganix said dazedly. When the envoy merely blinked in surprise, Ganix looked to his son for an explanation.

"The one that found a way to pump water out of that old well without using a Drag-Energist." Lord Ganix showed no sign of recognition and Constantine groped for something his father might remember, "The Zaibach girl? You bought her a few months ago?"

"Ah yes. The one that can read Fanelian script."

"That _is_ what she told you," Constantine agreed. The envoy smiled pityingly at Constantine, as though he suddenly understood every rumor he had heard about Lord Ganix's one track mind.

Lord Ganix faced the envoy once again, giving the other man what was meant to be a charming smile. "I'm sorry. The girl isn't for sale right now. Any offer you made would have to be very generous indeed."

The envoy named his price. Ganix refused instantly and sent the man on his way. Constantine, who had been holding his breath, heaved a sigh.

"She's valuable is she?" Lord Ganix mused after the envoy had left the room. "Interesting. Con, bring the girl to me. And make sure that idiot envoy doesn't see her on his way out."

"Yes father."

Outside the study door, Constantine sighed quietly. It was typical of his father to be so short sighted. The only reason Lord Ganix wanted to keep the girl around now was because he hoped to drive up her price before selling her. But Constantine could think of such better things. They could accomplish so much with just one girl's knowledge of Zaibach machinery! And her tutor, though clearly out of her wits, showed even more promise.

But Constantine kept his mouth shut on the topic. He knew his father would never be interested in anything he suggested, especially anything that didn't involve using a sword against their rivals. To Lord Ganix, that was the only honorable way. So as long as there was no immediate threat the girl would be sold, Constantine would wait until he could find something more permanent.

No matter how much potential Constantine saw in the girl, he preferred to avoid her. When she looked at him, her dark eyes seemed to stare straight through him and into the distance. Her entire manner radiated a cold confidence that Constantine wasn't used to seeing in his servants and made him uneasy. She was not someone to be trusted.

Constantine found the girl in the workroom on the side of the stables. The place had once been used as a storage room for hay, then the "fertilizer" the horses produced, and had only been cleaned out a few months prior to the new slaves' arrival. Ancient smells still wafted up from the flagstones.

The girl sat hunched on a bench against the wall, her burnt chestnut hair falling free over her face. She was staring mesmerized down into her palms.

"They're called calluses," Constantine informed her as stepped through the door. He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. "Didn't you ever pick anything up other than a quill pen in Zaibach?"

The girl jumped at his voice then scrambled to her feet. For a moment Constantine wondered if she actually had the nerve to glare at him then she carefully forced away the expression. "Is there something you wanted sir?"

Something he wanted? Constantine wanted his father to for once see beyond the edge of his sword. He wanted to see his family's title become a true weight in the Court of Freid. But it wouldn't do to be telling this girl any of that.

"My father has summoned you to his study."

"What does he want?" It was an impudent question that only tempted Constantine's short temper that morning. Still, Constantine knew better ways of punishing her than simply snapping at her.

"I imagine he's going to congratulate you on your work with the well. Then again, perhaps he wants you in his bed tonight. How should I know?" Constantine said with a shrug. To his satisfaction, a tiny gasp escaped the girl and he saw her clench her hands at her sides.

"Now come with me," Constantine said and stepped into the doorframe. A rustling alerted him at last that there was someone else in the room. Constantine turned just in time to see the girl's tutor tumble out of the pile of hay in the corner, bit of the stuff sticking every which way out of her hair and rough clothes.

"She's going alone. Father didn't say anything about wanting to see you too," he warned.

The bedraggled woman drew herself up as proudly as a noblewoman. "I am Alexandra's tutor," she announced, "Instructor of the Third Class in the Imperial Academy of-"

"No, you're a mad serf who thinks far too highly of herself. You're staying right where you are."

The woman's eyes glinted furiously. Constantine held her stare, his expression a cool smirk, though he was suddenly very aware of the possible need for the dagger at his hip. If the girl made him feel a little uneasy, then her tutor made his skin scrawl. The girl put a hand on her tutor's shoulder to restrain her and murmured, "Just for this once listen. I can take care of this."

On the walk back to the main manor house, the girl had the sense to keep her mouth shut. She didn't make trouble again until they neared Ganix's study. Constantine realized he didn't hear her footsteps behind him anymore.

He glanced back and found she had halted a few steps back. She was staring at the door ahead of them bleakly and her hands were clenched so hard that Constantine was sure her nails were digging into her palms. In an instant he wondered if he had gone too far. Perhaps she was not as hard as she acted.

"Relax," he ordered impatiently. "You're not even his type."

The girl's eyes narrowed on him as though he had just issued her a challenge. Constantine smirked, aware he had hit a nerve. The girl marched past him and threw the study door open.

The room ahead of her sterile and the oaken furniture sparse. Ceiling high windows lined one side of the room, looking out into the west to the mountains between Asturia and Freid. Bookshelves lined the walls, though Constantine knew that his father only had the collection there for show. Lord Ganix had positioned his desk and high-backed chair at the side of the room opposite the windows.

Lord Ganix stood up when they entered and cocked his head at the girl. "It seems as though I'm going to need a good excuse to keep you on the estate while I bargain a good price for you."

The girl peered right back at her lord, taking the stance Constantine assumed meant she was about to ask a question.

"Scientists..." Ganix murmured before she could say anything then his eyes light with an idea. A rare occurrence, in Constantine's opinion. "Ah yes, you can be Con's tutor."

Constantine blinked. Had his father really just managed to outmaneuver him? "What!"

"I said, she's going to be your tutor. It wouldn't hurt to have some of her knowledge in our family."

"He's too old."

"I'm too old," Constantine said in unison.

"Surely he has already learned everything he needs to know by now," the girl said, unaware she was dangerously close to having a sneer in her voice.

Both men ignored her. Lord Ganix frowned with one eyebrow cocked, a look most servants learned in the first few days meant extreme danger. "You should be thrilled to work under such a lovely tutor."

"That scrawny little-!"

"Oh yes, insult her. That should convince her to make your lessons simple. She is going to be reporting to me, you know."

"Father, I don't think you understand what you're-" Constantine began, following on his father's heels towards the door.

"You may be my son, but that doesn't mean you can negotiate with me. You'll study with her each day until I find a suitable buyer. Starting now," Lord Ganix said and slammed the door firmly behind him, leaving them alone in the study.

Everything froze in the room for minutes as Constantine and the girl stared at the place Lord Ganix had disappeared.

"What's your name?" Constantine grunted suddenly. He was going to take advantage of this situation, no matter what his father did.

She only glanced at him but Constantine caught the scorn in her look. "Alexandra."

"Well Alexandra, how are we going to manage this?"

"Just stay out of my way and I'll tell your father you're a quick learner at everything I teach you."

"Done," Constantine growled as he sank into his father's chair. If he had to bear her presence, at least he liked her style.

* * *

As time passed Alexandra became accustomed to Constantine's presence in the corner of the room while she worked. Once she learned that he was simply going to ignore her the entire hour they were trapped together each day in Lord Ganix's study, she could go about her business giving him the same treatment.

After a few days she persuaded Constantine to allow the professor to join them in the study, convincing him that the woman would cause trouble if Alexandra didn't keep an eye on her. Nuada usually used the time to nap in Lord Ganix's giant chair, but sometimes Alexandra caught her watching Constantine with her gleaming eyes.

Alexandra let the days pass without paying attention, blocking out the news of the outside world and focusing on her studies with the professor instead. If she did listen, all she would hear about was another Zaibach defeat. Another general killed. Another city surrendered. She didn't need to hear it.

Months passed and Alexandra took no notice. The changes in her body as she grew and filled out wasn't even enough to attract her attention.

When she had scrounged up enough materials from around the manor grounds to start making the kind of equipment she needed, she brought those along into the study instead. That day, Constantine watched her warily as she closed the drapes and light a candle. Then she placed a bit of glass into a clamp she had attached to the edge of Lord Ganix's desk and began the process of moving the candle back and forth until a bit of light came into focus on the wall behind her.

"What on Gaea are you doing?" she heard Constantine ask unexpectedly. Normally if he spoke at all to her, it meant that he was annoyed by something she was doing during one of her experiments. Moving around or making too much noise perhaps. She hoped he wouldn't interrupt her too much that day.

"Measuring the focal length of the lens," Alexandra said absently. When Constantine was silent, she glanced up and saw that he had no idea what she was talking about. She supposed she ought to teach him something, just in case Lord Ganix decided to quiz him instead of her on what Constantine was learning. "Here, I'll show you."

She picked up the lens and handed it to him, showing him how to move it back and forth in front of the flame to make the light dance across the wall to the ceiling. "The professor told me that each lens bends the light in a precise manner. If you get everything just right, you can determine where the light will be focused."

Constantine regard her dubiously, "Why should you care where the light bends?"

Alexandra edged away from him, trying to repress her exasperation. "You're the one you asked what I was doing!"

"Your frustration is one of the few things I have to amuse me during our meetings," Constantine remarked and held the small piece of glass up to his eyes to peer through. The lens shifted in his fingers to the round edge Alexandra hadn't had time to ground down yet. "Ack!"

Alexandra heard the tinkling of glass behind her and whirled about in horror. "You might have warned me some of the edges were still sharp," Constantine snapped, holding out his bleeding palm but Alexandra's vision was centered on the dozen or so pieces of glass scattered across the carpet.

"Blast it!" she cried, kneeling over the broken glass like it was a dead pet. "I worked all week on that lens!"

"Is that all you can say after cutting me open?"

"You're the warrior. I thought it was your job to bleed," Alexandra shot back, demonstrating a spark in her temper Constantine had never seen before.

The two of them retreated to opposite sides of the room in silence. Alexandra carefully picked up the lens pieces and placed them into the bucket where she had meticulously collected other shards, brooding over how she was going convince the glass blower to melt them down this time. Constantine tore a strip from the handkerchief from his pocket and tied it about his hand the best he could with one hand and his teeth. Nuada continued to snore quietly in her chair.

A half an hour passed before either of them acknowledged the other existed again.

"What were you going to use it for?" Constantine asked, breaking the silence just before their time together was over.

But Alexandra was no longer in the mood to explain anything else to him. "If you're really interested, go to the pastures after the Silver Moon sets. There shouldn't be very many clouds and we should be able to see the stars."

Once they were finally released from their time together, Alexandra looked up to discover that Professor Nuada had been watching them the whole time.

* * *

Constantine tried to resist his curiosity. He seriously considered just going to bed and forgetting that the girl had said anything. But sleep wouldn't come as he watched the Silver Moon reach the western horizon. Cursing under his breath, Constantine relented and emerged from his room. The girl had, after all, thrown down the challenge.

He found Alexandra in the pasture the farthest north from the dim light of the manor. She had set up a strange tube mounted on a tripod in the middle of the field.

"Must you look at me that way?" Constantine said, referring to the shocked expression on Alexandra's face. Obviously she had never expected him to show. "What is that thing?"

Alexandra blinked and shook her head, "A telescope."

"I've heard of them," Constantine said, knowing that he was just surprising her again. "But why do you have it pointed at the sky?"

"Look," Alexandra gestured for the Mystic Moon, which at the moment was almost directly overhead.

Constantine cocked an eyebrow at her. "The Mystic Moon?"

"You've heard the stories. That generations ago the Mystic Moon used to be completely dark? Then the lights started to appear, first on one continent, then on the next and the next? Haven't you ever wondered what those lights are?"

When it became clear that Alexandra wasn't going to explain any further as she adjusted her device, Constantine craned his neck to look at the Moon. Only a slim crescent of it was slipping into the dark, but he could clearly see pin points of light following the Moon's coastline inside the shadow. He hadn't ever really thought about it. It all seemed too far away to matter.

"The resolution isn't very fine yet," Alexandra warned, motioning for him to look into the device. "That's what I was trying to improve this morning before you sabotaged me."

He ignored that remark as he leaned over to peer into the eyepiece. He jerked. "What- what am I looking at?"

"Cities."

"Cities!" Constantine shot away from the telescope and fell back a few paces, more agitated than Alexandra had ever seen him before.

Unconcerned by his reaction, Alexandra took his place at the telescope. "Yes. They know how to make cities larger than anything we ever had in Zaibach, buildings larger than anything in Palas. I once got to look through the highest resolution telescope at the Academy and I saw that they have machines to carry them places faster even than a guymelef. That is where the Wing Goddess came from. That is why Fanelia was able to win the war with her on their side."

"Have you seen any sign of how they fight their wars?" Constantine asked.

Alexandra leaned back from the telescope with a sigh. "Don't you think of anything besides war?"

He looked down into her eyes suddenly, shocking her with the intensity of his gaze. "Don't you think of anything besides the stars?"

In that moment they understood each other perfectly. Of course she thought of other things and so did he. It was just too dangerous to let the rest of the world know they did.

"I want to see the Imperial Academy and all its knowledge restored," she whispered, hardly understanding why she chose to trust him.

Constantine smiled slowly. "And I want to rule the Duchy of Freid. Perhaps someday we'll be able to help each other."

* * *

At first the different plants and herbs of Freid stumped them but she and Nuada were learning quickly and finally able to produce some of their own materials. Nuada had even earned the title the Witch of Zaibach among the townsfolk. The professor preferred to save her energy for lessons so she sent Alexandra on that errand of wandering the paths through the countryside around the manor to collect plants instead. It was one of the few times Alexandra had away from the woman and she drew them out for as long as possible.

The day after her and Constantine's conversation around the telescope, Alexandra had to use even more time to think. She had no idea what he meant by helping each other. Technically all she was anymore was a serf, with no more ability to help him become a king than she had to fly. The whole idea seemed ridiculous.

A noise in the clearing ahead where she had planned to collect those strange red mushrooms distracted her. Alexandra darted off the path and up the slope to her right so that she could look down on the clearing and no one would see her.

A group of five men were attacking three particularly feisty children.

Alexandra choked on a gasp. Whatever the men were harassing, they weren't human children, but they weren't animals either. These children were decidedly feline, with velvety ears on top of their heads and tails that reached down past their ankles.

The oldest of the three had black hair, making him look like little more than a shadow as he darted around the men, hissing and throwing clumsy blows. He had streaks here and there in a pale shade of gold that Alexandra suspected had grown in over scars. Another was a Russian blue, with a blue coat and silver guard hairs so that she seemed like a pool of water rippling with all her fur raised. The youngest was the least remarkable, brown with black stripes.

Alexandra might have been tempted to slip quietly back along the trail, if she hadn't known one thing: those kitten-children were part of a species under the protection of Zaibach.

There was no use trying to talk to this kind of peasant. Picking up her full basket, Alexandra burst through the brush and chucked it with all her might at the nearest man. She never expected him to crumple to the ground and go still after the blow.

The kittens scattered to the edges of the clearing, staring at Alexandra as shocked as the men were. The men were the first to work through the feeling, advancing now on Alexandra instead. Well, she supposed four on one was better than five on one anyways.

Bellowing, the man that appeared to be the leader of the group charged her. Without so much as a second thought, Alexandra drew a vial out of her apron pocket and threw it into the man's face. The glass shattered, releasing a sickly yellow gas that knocked him out instantly.

She didn't have much time to study the results for future experiments. A second man followed close in his wake. Alexandra drew out another vial, this time acid. But this man was smart enough to duck. He lunged towards her, snatching hold of her wrist. "Filthy wench!" he snarled.

"Take your hands of them!"

Alexandra spun about, yanking her wrist free. Constantine sat astride his pale horse Sorrel at the edge of the clearing. His bright eyes were watching the three men, sparking furiously. Strangely Alexandra didn't feel relieved. Instead she just felt annoyed. What could he possibly have been doing there? Had he been following her?

The man looming over Alexandra straightened up. "And who do you think you are?"

"I am Constantine Ganix, your liege lord. And I believe I just told you to take your hands off them."

"Right. If your Ganix's son, then I'm a newborn pup," the tallest of the men sneered.

"How unfortunate for you," Constantine said quietly as his slid off the back of his horse and his lips twisted into a shadowy smile. "Because my father enforces strict laws about breeding animals."

The man reddened and his meaty hands balled. Then he snickered as something occurred to him. "I don't know. I think I can take some lord's son who's never even been to war. What do you say boys?"

"You're going to regret saying that!" Constantine lunged.

The kitten-children took this as their signal to attack as well, all three of them pouncing in unison on the smallest of the men. The other two barely had time to react. Constantine sank his fist into the closest one's stomach then in the same fluid move, swung about and struck the other one on the temple. They collapsed with similar groans as Constantine turned on the third.

The two older kittens darted away from their victim when Constantine approached, but the youngest kept her fangs clamped on the man's hand. "Get 'er off! Get 'er off!" the man pleaded.

"It's time to release him," Constantine told the kitten-girl. She just peered at him uncomprehending and Constantine motioned towards his mouth impatiently, "I said let him go."

After a moment's hesitation, the kitten-girl opened her jaws and dropped to the ground into a crouch, spitting in disgust as though the man had tasted awful. The man clutched his bleeding hand to his chest, whimpering. Constantine addressed him without sympathy. "You're welcome to run, if you like."

The man did just that as Alexandra stepped up next to Constantine. "You didn't fight in the war?" she asked.

He glanced at her. "My father needed me here," he said simply, his tone dangerous enough to indicate that he was not going to discuss it. So that was it. He hadn't fought because of Alexandra or the kitten-children. He had just wanted to protect his honor.

"There now, that was a magnificent fight on your part," Constantine crouched in front of the three kitten-children who were watching him warily. "But the three of you have to learn how to follow orders more quickly."

"Do you think they understand you?"

"Oh they're quite feral. I doubt they even know how to speak. But what creature doesn't understand tone of voice?" Grinning, Constantine patted the youngest kitten's head as though praising a prized hunting dog, "I bet you could have taken off a few of his fingers if we had given you a few more seconds, yes indeed. What fine warriors you'll make."

* * *

Constantine didn't care whether or not the kittens were from Zaibach but he knew that his father would. Constantine snuck them onto the manor grounds that evening and gave them the unused servants' quarters, encouraging them to only go out at night when no one would see them. Once they understood that they were going to be cared for and given shelter, the kittens were extremely obedient. "They eat like grown men," was all Constantine had to say on the subject and Alexandra took this to mean he was pleased.

The moment the kittens were fed, they started to grow worse than weeds and it became ever more difficult for Constantine to keep them outside of Lord Ganix's knowledge. "Now what do we do if we ever hear Uncle Ganix coming?" Constantine drilled them.

"Run like hell?" the kittens would pipe in unison.

That wasn't all he drilled them on. The day after they arrived on his estate, Constantine began teaching them hand-to-hand combat, promising to move onto hand held weapons and even horseback riding. "You'll be my elite fighters someday," he told them.

Alexandra was disgusted to learn that even after a month under Constantine's care, the kittens still hadn't learned any more words than basic commands. She couldn't think of a way to help them she until she found the eldest of the three kittens, the boy, curled up under her desk when she stepped into her work room.

Constantine had convinced Lord Ganix to put the area aside for her, so that she was no longer ruining his study. It was a simple square room with only a slit for a window that looked out over the pastures, but it was better by far than the room off the stables. Two straw mattresses were shoved into one corner out of the way, since sometimes Nuada and Alexandra didn't bother going back to their rooms to sleep. The two of them had made use of every other inch of space for tables and storage for their experiments. Glass beakers simmered over candles and a pile of sheet metal rested in another corner.

"Tired," the boy said in the monosyballic style Constantine had taught them.

Constantine came through the door a moment later. "Where is he?"

Alexandra looked up at him innocently, "Who?"

"The boy. I can't find him for practice."

"I haven't seen him," she lied, feeling the kitten-boy tense at her foot. Once Constantine was satisfied she didn't know anything and left, Alexandra leaned under her desk. "All right. The three of you can come here to rest sometimes. But when you do, you have to let me teach you how to talk."

The kittens learned quickly that Alexandra's workroom was a place to rest for them, even if they had to put up with her lessons. They learned Constantine's lessons even faster. Too fast in Alexandra's opinion. In no time at all, they were using their abilities to surprise her in her lab. "Stop sneaking up on me," Alexandra warned the boy after one incident. "One of these times you're going to get acid thrown in your face."

Grinning, the boy swung off the rafters to land in a graceful crouch on the edge of her desk. Show off. Then his expression turned pensive, his midnight tail swishing gently behind him. "Alexandra? What's my name?"

"What do you want it to be?"

"What... would my name be in Zaibach?" the kitten-boy asked in his halting language after he thought about it a moment.

Alexandra paused in her work and gazed abstractly into her bowl, remembering the strange legends Dornkirk had brought from the Mystic Moon and told to his court. "Alecto," she decided, "Your name would be Alecto. And that makes your sisters Tisiphone and Megaera."

"Alecto," he repeated, his eyes wide. "That sounds powerful."

"That's because it is. If you train hard, someday we're going to be very powerful," Alexandra smiled at him.

* * *

"-and Fanelia has that power?"

It was well after the time she and Constantine had their lessons and around that part of the day that he disappeared off with the kittens. Alexandra never expected to hear Constantine's voice mixing with Nuada's in conversation inside of her workroom. Alexandra pressed herself quickly against the wall, listening at the cracked door.

"Of course they do. How do you think they managed to get the Wing Goddess to Gaea? But one moment, my student has arrived. Come out Alexandra."

Alexandra stepped through the doorway, unrepentant and frowning at the professor. Constantine appeared startled to see her but only for a moment. "Thank you for your wisdom my good witch. I'll leave the two of you alone then. Good evening Alexandra."

"Good evening," Alexandra murmured distantly as he retreated out the doorway. Nuada waved him goodbye like a child sending off her older brother to school.

The two women gazed at each other for a few long minutes, either waiting for the other one to look away. "What exactly have you been telling him?" Alexandra asked sternly.

Nuada shrugged. "Just fairly tales, nothing serious. Only what he wants to hear."

But Alexandra wasn't about to let her slip out of the question that easily. "Fanelia's power... Why would he want to know about Dornkirk's experiment?"

"Now now, my dear student," Nuada teased. "You spend more time with him than I do. You would be able to answer that much better than I could."

"Dornkirk's experiment failed," Alexandra said, trying to pretend she wasn't troubled by the professor's observation.

"Yes and I thought I had trained you well enough to understand what that means."

"All right," Alexandra sighed, doing her best to humor the woman. "What does that mean?"

"Dornkirk was just using the wrong variables," Professor Nuada chuckled softly, gesturing at the Mystic Moon floating just above the horizon outside the window.

Alexandra gazed at the Moon for a moment. It was true. Dornkirk never had any other allies from his home. "Professor, what _was_ Dornkirk's experiment?

But Nuada's mind had already jumped towards another subject, following some twisted web that Alexandra could never hope to understand. Nuada gazed at the door where Constantine had disappeared. "That boy really is a fine specimen isn't he?"

Alexandra turned her back on Nuada in disgust, hardly caring to figure out what the witch was saying.

* * *

Alexandra woke with a start then lay back wondering at the ceiling. The daily combination of the Witch of Zaibach, Constantine, and the kittens was usually enough to help her sleep through the night. What possibly could have woken her? She rolled over and found the bed next to her empty. For a moment Alexandra wondered if she was dreaming of the refugee train of years ago, when it had been impossible to keep track of the woman she had once called the professor, then her mother as a lie, simplified to tutor, and finally the witch.

Then with a jolt to her stomach, Alexandra shot out of bed. The witch treasured her rest above all else. The only thing that could possibly drag that woman out of bed in the middle of the night was the future of Zaibach. Alexandra had to find her.

Instinctively, Alexandra headed first towards her workroom through the manor's dark hallways. Then muffled shouting and the witch's hoarse cackling confirmed it. "Constantine?" Alexandra wondered groggily, pushing the door open.

A cup lay shattered across the ground, its contents splashed in a bubbling puddle. Scattered around that, Alexandra recognized some of the supplies Nuada had collected for an experiment she hadn't explained yet. Nuada knelt amid the mess with her head bowed, Constantine towering above her.

"What's going on?" Alexandra demanded, drawing both of their gazes to her.

Constantine's bright eyes had turned murky and swamp-colored. Even more disturbing was that his hair had grown a full two inches since the last time Alexandra had seen him and had taken on a faint gray sheen. The very way he held himself seemed different, as though he was no longer sure who he was.

But all this was secondary to the dagger he clutched in his hands.

"What are you doing!"

"Can't you tell?" Constantine laughed. "I'm going to kill her for this. Only she could have done this to me."

Alexandra rushed in front of him, her arms outstretched. She hoped he might at least think twice before hurting her too. "You can't."

Constantine paused. "Get out of my way Alexandra."

"Constantine! Have you lost your mind?"

His eyes focused on her at last, their swampy depths enveloping her. "You were part of this too weren't you," he breathed, sounding dazed and defeated. "I'm just another one of your experiments."

"No! I-" Alexandra cut off and turned on the witch. The woman groaned and clutched her bruised jaw as she pushed herself up on one elbow. Alexandra rushed to her and clutched her by the shoulders. "What did you do to him!"

The witch's eyes fluttered ecstatically, "It was so easy. The men never check their food around here. It was so slow, but it worked just as well-"

Alexandra shook her. "Nuada! What have you done!"

"The theories work," Nuada hissed in triumph. "All we need now is to get to the Mystic Moon. All we need is the power of Fanelia."

* * *

Constantine had the woman locked away. It didn't take much for him to convince his father that she was a menace. Constantine would have had her executed instead if not for Alexandra's interference. She knew that Nuada was the only one who knew how to reverse what she had done.

Ganix's prison was a simple affair, three cells with iron bars set in one corner of the cellar of the main manor. There was no light there, not there would have been anything to look at except bleak stone walls. Alexandra brought a torch with her.

She sat on the stool in front of the bars holding Nuada in her cell. She knew what had happened to Constantine was her fault. For ignoring Nuada's scheming, for allowing herself to think Nuada was harmless. She knew this and hated the witch for it.

"Couldn't you have waited to use your tricks on someone who deserved it? Someone who actually took part in the war? King Van perhaps?"

Nuada yawned widely like the kittens did when they were all but completely ignoring her. "What is it you're here for my student?"

"I'm here for my lesson."

"I'll never teach you anything, locked in a cage like an animal. I won't tell you a single spell. Never, never, never."

"I think you will," Alexandra told her calmly.

"Oh?" Intrigued by that statement, the witch looked up at her student at last. "What makes you think that?"

"Because you want to see the end of Dornkirk's experiment. And now I'm the only one that can complete it."

Nuada hacked with laughter, "Very well."

* * *

She was so busy grilling Nuada for every bit of knowledge she had about Dornkirk's experiment that she didn't give it much mind when Lord Ganix passed away in his sleep the next week. It didn't have much consequence on her life, except that it meant that the "lessons" between her and Constantine were over. Somehow she doubted that either of them would mind.

Only when she heard the whispering of the household servants as Constantine assumed his father's title did Alexandra realize the significance of the timing. She would never miss the former Lord Ganix but now she was acutely aware that Constantine's ambition had come to a head. Alexandra still couldn't determine what Nuada had done to him and Constantine wasn't discussing it with her, or with anyone for that matter. He was busy enough suppressing the rampant rumors across the state about his change of appearance.

At Lord Ganix's funeral, Alexandra got her first chance to see King Chid. His light blonde hair was at that awkward stage of short hair growing into long and his intelligent blue eyes took in everything around him. At another time it might have been strange to see such a young boy holding himself with the quiet dignity of an adult but Alexandra had seen the war do the same thing to many of Chid's generation. King Chid seemed perfectly at ease in the elegance of the great hall of Ganix's manor where the funeral was being held. She wondered if, with all those advisors floating about him constantly, the boy even remembered how to play.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Lord Constantine. I know what it's like to lose a father," the boy said.

"I thank you, your majesty." Dry eyed, Constantine went to one knee before his king, which really only brought him eye to eye with the boy.

Chid's sympathetic look transformed into a startling frown. "Yet I am disturbed. It's been nine months since we finally brought down the last Zaibach general..."

Alexandra jumped with the realization. Nine months? How many years did that make it since Zaibach fell?

"...But your armies are still in the field. Why haven't they disarmed?"

Constantine pretended to be the most startled of all, "Your majesty, I-"

"I don't want to know your excuse. I want you to disarm. Now."

That evening, once the King and his entourage had departed and Constantine no longer had to entertain any guests, Alexandra found him lounging in what was now her study. Constantine had given it to her after his father's death and she had quickly added her own touches to the room, mainly removing the layer of dust on the books from Lord Ganix's neglect.

Constantine slouched in his father's old chair, clutching a dark cloak about his shoulders as though cold even with the fire blazing bright in the hearth. He grinned fiercely when he finally noticed her entrance, "That brat intends to rule us with an iron fist. He might actually be somewhat of a challenge."

Alexandra frowned. The Constantine she knew would never admit that a simple child presented him a challenge. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I've made my move Alexandra. Let us hope that they do not realize it was me."

* * *

For a week, a day didn't go by that a messenger didn't arrive on horseback with orders from Prince Chid to disarm. And with each passing day, Constantine became more and more agitated. It wasn't the messengers, Alexandra could tell by the way he blithely ignored them. No, Constantine was waiting for a different kind of news. Whatever it was, he wouldn't tell her, not even in those moments when he retreated to her study out of force of habit.

Constantine glanced out of the windows and grunted at the sight of another one riding up the road. "All he ever does is whine, 'Disarm! Disarm!' I'm beginning to wonder if our King is full of hot air."

Alexandra began to put away her materials but Constantine motioned for her to stop.

"No. I'll meet him here." She gave him a quizzical look and he continued with a smile. He had grown accustomed to her questions. "Because Alexandra, for the moment it suits me to let people believe I'm the silly nobleman in love with Zaibach technology and hopelessly infatuated with the Zaibach girl."

"So you've heard the rumors too." Alexandra felt her cheeks burning. She turned away from him hastily and set down the apparatus a little too hard on the desk. The glass beakers tinkled and rattled in protest.

Constantine shrugged. "It's my business to know what people on my own estate are saying about me." He studied her face then laughed. "Does it really trouble you so much that they think we're lovers?"

There was a knock at the door before Alexandra could muster some kind of answer. "Enter," Constantine called, sounding frustrated at being interrupted.

A man stepped through the doorway, wearing the bright red and blue colors of the King's messenger service. He appeared strangely pale as he performed a deep bow, "My Lord Constantine, I bring word from-"

Constantine didn't bother turning from the window to greet the man. "The King. Yes, I know and I can imagine what you're going to tell me too."

"No sir," the messenger said stiffly, "This is word King Chid is sending all over the realm."

Constantine blinked though Alexandra could tell he was only pretending to be surprised. "I see. What is it then?"

The messenger drew in a rattling breath and Alexandra became even more convinced he looked shaken. "The Palace of Fanelia has been attacked by a team of assassins. There-" the man swallowed, "There have been casualties."

Alexandra's heart leapt. At the same time her neck swiveled about on its own accord. She watched Constantine for any sign of a reaction. He had to be connected to this news. What exactly had he done?_ It doesn't matter what he's done,_ another part of her said_, Whatever it was, Fanelia deserved it._

"King Van?" Constantine inquired carefully.

"He's presumed dead, my lord."

"Oh?" Constantine looked around at last. "You've found his body?"

"No, my lord."

"Hm. Well it's too early to call that man dead until you see his head on a pike... So to speak," Constantine added when the messenger's expression became faintly sickened.

"What about his children?" Alexandra asked breathlessly and the messenger mistook her tone for the wrong kind of concern.

He shook his head sympathetically. "The same."

"How terrible," Constantine murmured and allowed a moment of silence. Then, "Well, isn't it fortunate that I've kept my armies in the field? I'll send word to Fanelia immediately and ask if they require assistance."

"Oh and sir?" the messenger said abruptly, "Afterwards, you're ordered to disarm."

Constantine waved to the messenger, not quite able to suppress a grin, "You're dismissed."

Once the messenger was gone, Constantine shot out away from the window and began to pace the room. "Still alive? Why doesn't anyone ever follow my orders correctly? Blast, I knew I should have sent the kittens!"

"I'm glad you didn't. They're too young," Alexandra said, placing a hand on his shoulder to still him.

Constantine reached over and pressed his hand over hers. It was the first time they had ever touched each other. "I'm sorry Alexandra. It's going to take longer than I thought to find a way to the Mystic Moon."

* * *

A/N: So what do you guys think? Is Van really dead or not? Hey, don't look at me, I'm not telling yet :)

Just FYI. Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera are the names for the Greek goddesses of vengeance, the Furies. Now, I know some of you are going to call me by saying that Alecto is a girl's name. Let me just tell you right now that the Romans changed it to a boys name. Hee, besides girls, don't you want to see a cat-boy too?

Next chapter, we'll be back with Hitomi and friends!


	3. Ch 2 Forgetting How to Fly

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Escaflowne! I'd be flattered if you sued, but please don't.

**Dedication:** To my one reviewer, majka. You're awesome!

**Refugees and Kings**

**Chapter Two: Forgetting How to Fly**

**In which Rem and Valari begin to grow up on Earth**

* * *

Five years and Hitomi was still having the nightmares.

Usually she woke up with no memory of them. The only reason she knew she had them was because Myoujin sometimes asked her about them in the morning when they sat together for breakfast. He never expressed anything except concern but Hitomi knew that her tossing at night kept him awake as well. So the moment Hitomi was back on her feet, she made sure to get her own apartment.

Asleep in her own room, she didn't have to feel guilty about concealing her dreams.

Hitomi sat up with a start, shaking off an image of breaking wings.

She glanced at her clock. _Unh_. Why did her maternal instinct have to kick in at 3:00 A.M.? Throwing off her sheets, Hitomi rolled out of bed and groped through the darkness of her bedroom towards the door.

She opened it as slowly as possible to avoid making any sound. It was a rare moment when both Rem and Val were asleep and Hitomi wasn't about to risk waking either of them. Not only did the twins have a talent for seeking out trouble, they seemed to have synchronized their schedule so one would keep Hitomi busy while the other one could rest.

Hitomi did not have far to go down the hall to reach the twins' room. No matter how lucky they were to have the apartment there was no denying the space was cramped. The arrangement wouldn't last forever but for now the twins could share.

Hitomi peeked in the doorway. Val was sprawled in her usual tangle of sheets and her raven hair matted across her pillowcase. Hitomi heard the girl breathing heavily and smiled, reassured. Then her eyes turned to Rem.

"Rem?" Forgetting any fear of waking the kids, Hitomi rushed into the room to paw through the empty sheets on Rem's bed. It took her less than a second to turn on Val, shaking the girl's shoulder gently.

"Val?" Hitomi tried to keep the urgency out of her voice so she wouldn't scare the child. "Val, where's your brother?"

"Mom?" Val complained groggily, rolling over to try to shake Hitomi off.

"Val, tell me where Rem is or you're spending tomorrow at Myoujin-sensei's while I'm at work."

The threat penetrated the girl's sleepy consciousness and her chocolate eyes opened reproachfully. Val dragged herself from her dreams long enough to gesture in the vague direction above them, "Outside."

At the same moment something thumped in the ceiling. Hitomi stared up at it, wishing desperately she hadn't heard anything. "Oh dear God."

Val went back to snoring, blissfully unaware of Hitomi's sprint through the apartment.

How was it possible that she hadn't heard Rem use the front door? Then climb the service stairs up to the fifth floor balcony? The walls were so thin she usually heard what went on in the entire complex!

Hitomi reached the front door in moments and found it completely unlocked. She was sure she had locked it for the night. Rem had no excuse now. Unless he could convince her, fast, that he had been sleepwalking, she was ready to ground him for the rest of the month for leaving the house in the middle of the night.

Hitomi burst through the door and turned on her heel. Scrambling down the open-air hallway overlooking the street below, she reached the stairs to the fifth floor landing and took them two by two. She knew there was a wonderful view there, where you could watch the car lights twinkle as they passed huge glass buildings.

At the top of the landing, Rem's small form could be seen scrambling up the side of the railing, silhouetted against the glow of the city. His dark eyes reflected that glow happily, completely unaware of the five story drop below him.

"Rem!"

"Mom?" The boy jerked around to blink at her. His moment of surprise gave Hitomi enough time to descend upon him and drag him away off the side of the railing.

Gasping from adrenaline, Hitomi hugged the boy tight. "What were you thinking?"

"But I did it Mom!" the boy cried, squirming with surprising strength for a five-year-old. "I dreamed it then I did it!"

Hitomi blinked and released him. New possibilities at what he might have accomplished swam in her thoughts. She knew the twins had watched that show that said cats always landed on their feet recently but he wouldn't have actually tried to...

"What? What did you do?"

Rem spread out his arms and gave Hitomi a proud smile. "I flew."

Hitomi stared until her eyes began to sting. "You- you…. Oh Rem."

Rem's smile faded and his eyes went wide as he watched her. "Mommy?" he said, a quaver in his voice. It took her a moment to realize there were tears running down her cheeks.

Flying. She had almost forgotten.

Hitomi wiped the tears off her cheeks and gripped the boy's shoulders. "Listen to me Rem. It was just a dream. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"But mo-"

"You can't fly Rem. It was just a dream, that's all." Hitomi forced herself to smile, as though she was merely considering a funny thought, "You can't fly."

Rem was frowning, ready to disagree. Then his eyes dropped, letting her win the argument before he even tried. He gave a small jerking nod.

Hitomi continued to smile. "Come on. Time to go back to bed."

Later, when she was sure this time that both children were asleep, Hitomi snuck back upstairs to sweep up the feathers.

* * *

Hitomi sighed in satisfaction and set down the box in the corner. She turned back to Myoujin, who had only just stepped through the apartment door, carrying the last box of her few belongings from the dojo. With that the move was over.

"So, what do you think?"

"You already know what I think," Myoujin murmured as he eyed the cramped space critically. "I think you should stop this nonsense and come back to the dojo."

"Thank you Daisuke. But now that I finally got that promotion I can't ask you to house us anymore. Oh, speaking of freeloading..." Hitomi rummaged through another box waiting nearby, bought out a white envelope, and offered it to Myoujin. "A great deal of rent has built up over the years. I told you I would pay you back someday."

Myoujin walked past the envelope without even glancing at it. He stopped at the living room window, frowning down at the street. "Even in a normal situation, this is no place for children to grow up. At least the dojo has some green life around it." Myoujin looked significantly back at Hitomi, "But this is hardly a normal situation is it."

Hitomi sighed, avoiding his gaze. "It's been years..."

"You think you're finally safe from them?" Myoujin asked earnestly. After years of Hitomi refusing to describe the disaster that had brought her to his doorstep, Myoujin had been forced to refer to her secret enemies in vague terms and allusions. He would have to be even more careful now that the twins were getting older and more suspicious.

"I'm not letting my guard down, if that's what you mean."

"I mean that it would be safer for them back at the dojo."

"I used to feel the same way. In those early days when I really thought we might be followed, I never wanted to leave your protection. But the twins are older now, things have calmed down." Hitomi shook her head, at last admitting some of her guilt, "That, and I can't ask you to put your home and your school in danger any longer."

Myoujin mused over that a moment, unsure of how to respond. It was true that he would have preferred to know what kind of dangers he had been shielding them from all this time. "You know, the greatest protection would be to tell them what they could have to face."

"I can't do that. I won't force them to live in fear like I have, not because of some danger that may never come." Hitomi smiled wryly, "Besides Daisuke, I think you're forgetting that even if I did try to tell them they would think I'm nuts."

Myoujin conceded that point easily enough. He would still sometimes try to convince himself that he had saved Hitomi and the children from a fiery car accident or some other bizarre explanation, rather than remember how she had actually arrived.

"What about Leon?"

Leandros already had the problem of attracting far too much attention by his appearance once he went off to school. Hitomi had tried to minimize the issue by convincing the boy to go by the more well-known name Leon in public. Val and Rem had already forgotten calling there older not-quite-brother by anything else.

"He seems to be settling in just fine after the move."

Myoujin rolled his eyes. "It's not as though he would ever complain. The boy is too polite with you Hitomi. He spends most of his time training at the dojo anyways. Why not let him become a full-time boarder?"

Hitomi hesitated.

After watching Leandros flit about those first few months as though having lost a piece of himself it had been Myoujin that suggested to Hitomi that she let the boy learn how to use the sword.

Myoujin-sensei certainly resembled any Fanelian swords master Leandros would have ever imagined and all of them that Hitomi had actually met. He was gruff, aggressive, completely dedicated to his art, and he drove Leandros like an animal. Myoujin had enjoyed forcing him into ambidexterity where in Fanelia Leandros would have simply been treated as a cripple.

At the same time, Hitomi knew that things hadn't always gone smoothly between master and student. The weapons, the bamboo shinai and the wooden bokken, barely resembled anything Leandros had known in his own world. A respectable Fanelian samurai would use steel. Unable to shake that knowledge from Leandros' memory, Myoujin battled constantly with the boy on the subject. It took several sound defeats before Leandros became convinced that what mattered wasn't the damage he could do, rather the ability to protect himself was the more important.

"I doubt he'll refuse," Hitomi said, inwardly promising to offer Leandros her apartment as a rest from the dojo whenever he needed it, unaware that Myoujin was silently thinking just the opposite.

Hitomi held up the envelope, "Fine. But only if you accept this."

"Hitomi," Myoujin sighed, "I know it's important to you to feel like you're striking out on your own, but it's important to me as well. I'm not taking your money."

That was about as close as the old samurai would ever come to admitting that the children had become like grandchildren to him.

* * *

"Kanzaki-chan! Get down from there!"

Val neared the edge of the roof to call down to him, "I'll be down in a second!"

Leandros' eyes flew wide and he felt his heart stop. Suddenly it no longer mattered how exactly Val had gotten onto the dojo roof. It wasn't important that he had somehow let Val out of his sight when he was supposed to be watching her. All that mattered to him was how she got_ down_.

"Not that way!"

"Rem told me," Val said, as though that explained everything. "I wanna see if I can do it too."

Just keep her talking, Leandros urged himself. Anything to distract her. "What did Rem tell you?"

"It's a surprise. You'll like it!"

"I already hate it Kanzaki-chan. Just stay there instead and I'll come get you."

"You can't tell me what to do," Val rejoined, upset at Leandros' refusal to support her cause.

Leandros' panicked mind scrambled for something to say. "But what if Rem lied to you? Remember what he told you about ants and the microwave?"

"He's not lying this time," Val insisted, though her face did turn a pale shade of green. Those poor ants. Hitomi had grounded both twins for a week.

Suddenly all bets of friendship or fealty to the young exiled prince were off. The next time Leandros saw Rem, he would kill him. Worse if something actually happened to Val.

At the back of Leandros' thoughts there was something about a king... or a prince perhaps... that could fly with wings and summon dragons. But what did that mean? Would Valari actually be able to do this without getting hurt? He couldn't understand where Rem had gotten an idea like that anyway. No way Hitomi would have told him anything.

Val spread her arms out straight and laughed at the sky, "Here I come."

She was actually going to do it! And he would have to watch as she fell then... His imagination shied away from the image of Val's body touching the ground. Leandros' chest constricted.

"No!"

Something in his strangled shout made Val pause and glance down at him once again. She peered at him curiously. "Leon-kun... you're too old to cry."

"I'm not crying!" Leandros snarled, wiping his nose and eyes furiously on his sleeve.

"What's wrong?"

"I..." Why was it so painful to get the words out suddenly? Leandros' arm began to ache and he rubbed at the scars of his old wound absently. Despite Myoujin's careful attention, Leandros' arm had been slow to heal. It also quickly became clear he even though some control would return, he would never have full use of it ever again. Still, he had to try to protect the twins as best he could.

"Please Kanzaki-chan. Let me come get you down from there."

Sometimes Leandros could dream of Fanelia. Not that last glimpse of a nightmare Fanelia when he traveled with Hitomi-sama to the Mystic Moon, but the Fanelia he knew from early childhood. Sometimes he would even drift off into sleep, telling himself the old stories his mother knew. But that was getting more and more difficult as he got older. He could no longer imagine the young king, soaring with bright wings high above his kingdom.

Val's voice turned meek with confusion and worry as she struggled to reassure him, "But I can really- I won't..."

"I can't stand to see you hurt Valari," Leandros pleaded, for once using her name without any formality.

Val and Rem were all that Leandros had left to remind him. He saw Fanelia in them, when they acted with the wounded pride of a prince or princess or smiled at him. They gave him hope. Hope that maybe someday, just someday, Hitomi would say it was finally for them to go home. If he lost even one of them, what would there be left to fight for?

"But Rem told me I can..."

"Please," Leandros might as well have gotten down on his knees. "You'll fall and then I won't know what to do."

Apparently Rem hadn't said anything about falling. At last Val's eyes focused on the distance between her and the ground. When had it gotten so big? She had been on the dojo roof before, just never for the same purpose as that day. The blood rushed from her head and Val staggered to her knees, clutching the edge of the roof in a death-grip as she stared down at the ground.

"Leon-kun!" she gasped out from chattering teeth.

"I'll be right there," Leon shouted, "Just don't move!"

"Hurry," Val whimpered.

Seeing his opening, Leandros scrambled for the dojo drainpipe, too impatient to find the ladder out of the shed. For a few precious seconds, Leandros had to take his eyes off of her and his imagination tormented him with pictures of Val regaining her courage and taking the plunge while he wasn't there. The best he could do was hope she had the sense to stay put and pray that if she didn't, Rem and his mother's stories had been telling the truth.

Leandros plunged across the rooftop, fully aware that Myoujin would have his skin for making such a racket while he was trying to teach classes below. He found Val kneeling at the edge of the roof, staring bleakly down at the ground with tears dampening her cheeks. Thoughts of how he was going to punish Rem were pushed out of the way as he went to comfort the little girl.

"You silly girl," Leandros' words were harsh but he spoke them gently as he took hold of her shoulders and drew her away from the edge. "Didn't you know you were afraid of heights?"

Val hid her face against Leandros' chest.

* * *

**10 years after Hitomi returned to Earth**

Everyday after grade school let out, Leandros walked the twins home while Hitomi was busy with work. It was really out of the way for him but the habit had stuck from the days that Leandros had lived in together with the Kanzakis in their apartment. He doubted that the twins even remembered those days. Leandros had spent so much time at the Kamiya dojo that one day Myoujin and Hitomi simply told the boy to stay.

Despite that their apartment was out of his way, Leandros savored the small amount of time he had to spend with the twins. He hoped that they would begin their training soon and he could see them even more often.

Their favorite game during those walks home was to try to get Leandros to answer their questions. "Leon-kun, where are you from to have such strange hair?"

Leandros liked to smile and tease them and that afternoon was no different, "Can't you guess?"

"Germany," Rem tried.

"China!" Val said at the same time.

"If you can't guess, I won't tell you."

"France."

"Zimbabwe." Val liked to try the stranger choices.

"Nope. You'll never get it."

Val and Rem frowned at one another in concentration. Rem looked up and chimed, "Give us a hint Leon-kun."

"Yes, a hint!"

Leandros paused. The twins had never thought to ask him _that_ before. He thought about it and supposed there was no harm in a tiny hint. "Where I come from, there was a king."

"Was he a good king or a bad king?" Val asked.

Leandros' faltered and he blinked, discovering he didn't know. There was his mother's hand in his memory, stroking his forehead as she told the story before bedtime. He could hear her voice but the words were getting more and more difficult to remember.

"A good king," he decided, striding onwards. "But he died."

"What happened?"

"The king had two sons, one light and one dark. The dark prince was in line for the throne but the dragons decided his thoughts were ugly and he was unfit to be king. My home fell on hard times then, because the light prince was too young so we had no king."

"Dragons," Rem breathed, listening raptly.

"Yes, and the heart of every dragon was made of-" Leandros halted, discovering that Val was no longer at their side. He glanced over his shoulder to where she had fallen behind several paces. "Kanzaki-chan, catch up."

The girl didn't move. Instead she glared at Leandros accusingly. Rem crossed his arms impatiently, "Val, what's wrong?"

"He's lying!" Val burst out.

Both Leandros and Rem stared. "Huh?"

"There's no such thing as dragons. Not anywhere."

Leandros listened in detachment as the twins squabbled a moment, wondering at how careless he had allowed himself to be. If he wasn't careful, he might say the next thing that sent Val or Rem for the roof.

"Leon-kun," Rem's insistent voice broke through Leandros' thoughts, demanding that the older boy back him up in the argument with his sister.

Leandros' smile was considerably weaker this time. "She does have a point, Kanzaki-kun. There _are_ no such things as dragons on Earth."

Val couldn't resist, "Told you so."

Rem stared a moment then without warning kicked Leandros in the shin. "No fair lying when we're trying to guess!"

Leandros staggered and Rem ran for his life. It seemed that once again that all bets of friendship and fealty Leandros owed to Rem were off. Leandros was going to kill him. "Get back here you squirt!"

"Run Rem, run!"

* * *

"But Leon-kun, why do we have to learn how to fight?"

Hitomi had finally given into Myoujin's pestering and agreed that the twins were old enough to start kenjutsu practice. That afternoon, Leandros brought them to the dojo early for a quick introductory lesson with Myoujin before the rest of his students arrived. The twins had reacted to the news with mixed feelings, even though they had spent so much time at the dojo before.

"Because Kanzaki-san wants you to know how to protect yourselves," Leandros replied, handing Val a shinai that matched her size and weight. She regarded the thing dubiously, as though Leandros had given her a snake.

Nearby Rem was swinging his own shinai more like a baseball bat than any sword. "Protect ourselves against what?" he laughed, "Random samurai attacks?"

Someone else might have gritted their teeth at that remark. Leandros, however, was learning how to keep cool around the twins' teasing. He considered his answer, calculating the possible dangers, then said, "Your father knew how to fight."

Both twins jumped, Val's eyes darting away and Rem looking up at Leandros avidly. "What do you know about our father?" he asked.

"Just that he knew how to use the sword very well," Leandros said flatly, careful that his expression wouldn't reveal anything else.

As Leandros lead them into the main practice hall, Val fell into step with her brother. "You sure changed your mind quickly," she observed quietly.

"It's important," he insisted, refusing to look at her.

But Val was his twin. She knew exactly what would be the most painful thing for him to hear. "Learning the sword isn't going to make our father appear out of nowhere, you know."

Rem twitched and a stricken flew across his face. Then he hardened. "I don't care. Maybe this way I can still learn something about him."

Myoujin was waiting for them at the center of the hall, a shinai slung over his shoulder casually. His traditional gi and hair-cut which drew his graying hair back into a harsh pony-tail might have looked old-fashioned on the street, but in the dojo Myoujin was the master of his domain. His eyes were still bright and young there, reflecting the light off the floors he had his students keep well-polished.

"Rem-kun, you first."

Suddenly shy around this man he had known all his life, Rem approached and stood across from Myoujin timidly. "What do I do?"

"Nothing right now. Stand there and watch closely while I perform the basic strike."

But maybe Rem could do more than that.

He didn't know how it worked, but he knew how to look at people and see their possibilities. If he concentrated very hard on a certain person, all the different ways that person might move in the next few seconds appeared in front of Rem's eyes, as though there was film-strip after film-strip laid on top of each other to make a messy blur. Rem suspected the visions hurt so much because of the way his eyes strained, trying to focus the different images that were really only in his mind.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, sensei," Rem said, rising his shinai the way Myoujin had shown him to. He squinted at Myoujin as his sensei prepared to strike.

His visions immediately sparked to life. Rem had never concentrated so hard on anyone in this kind of situation before. The light of possibilities pooled around Myoujin, fluid and always in motion but with the obvious ability to become spiked and dangerous if he so chose.

It was like someone had just turned up the lights too fast in a dark room, only the light was one hundred times brighter than it should have been. The visions stabbed backwards into Rem's eyes and he recoiled with a cry. He dropped his shinai, clamping his hands over his head.

"REM..."

The voice sounded like his sister's but Rem couldn't be sure. Then a pair of chocolate eyes emerged to look into his, two dark spots in a field of light. Those were his sister's eyes, his own eyes. Their faces were still mirror images of each other's. He saw their fear and confusion and he knew she

Rem's eyelids fluttered. "Val, please, make 'em go 'way."

"I know Rem. Ignore it. Don't look," Val squeezed his hand, swallowing again and again, "Think about something else."

Someone had moved him to a different room during the time the earth had fallen away from his feet. Vaguely Rem recognized the sparse room he and Val had sometimes stayed in during sleepovers, its single brush painting hanging like a lonely question mark in the corner. The shoji doors were opened wide onto the practice yard to allow in as much fresh air as possible.

From the entrance, Leandros peered at Rem's careful balancing act between feeling the pain and unconsciousness. He had felt the same thing once before in his life and recognized it easily enough in Rem, despite how the younger boy was trying to pretend it wasn't happening. Rem opened his eyes fully, wincing at the light and pushed himself up painfully.

He could hear the sound of Myoujin instructing his other students in a loud voice not far off in another room. The old samurai sounded frustrated and worried, leaving Rem no doubt he would be in to chew him out any moment.

"How long has this been going on?" Leandros murmured gently as he handed Rem a steaming cup of tea.

"A long time," Val said. "He has nightmares-"

"Don't mess with me and say you don't have the dreams either," Rem snapped at her from over his cup.

"I told you already Rem, I don't have them!"

"Somehow you're better at suppressing them than I am."

Leandros was watching Rem with that strange look in his eyes he got when someone mentioned the scar on his arm. "Wait. What kinds of dreams?"

"Just... nightmares," Rem said, closing himself off from any other questions. Leandros sighed.

"All right Kanzaki-kun, you rest for a while. We can try to get in your first practice tomorrow. Kanzaki-chan, look after your brother for me, will you?"

"Leon-sempai!" Leandros turned at Rem's call then started. Both the twins suddenly looked very frightened and alone, kneeling together in the corner of the room. Their gazes held him in ice. "You can't tell mom anything."

"Rem..." Leandros began reasonably.

"Swear you won't tell her about this."

"I can't just-"

"Swear it or I'll never speak to you again!"

Leandros didn't believe him at first. He glanced at Val and found she was just watching him with her head slightly cocked, firmly at her brother's back. Leandros wasn't going to be able to take much more.

"Fine. I swear I won't tell Kanzaki-dono anything!" he snarled before whirling about and stomping out of the room.

Val looked dazedly back at her brother, "Did his just say dono?"

* * *

"All right. Take a break, Kanzaki-chan."

Val wasn't about to argue. She immediately took advantage of his offer to collapse on one side of the practice hall. The polished wooden floor wasn't exactly comfortable but after the drills Leandros had just put her through, it was bliss.

She heard footsteps nearby and opened her eyes to see Kaoru leaning over her, smiling. Kamiya Kaoru, Myoujin-sensei's niece and heir to the dojo, was one of the few people that was kind to Val despite her shortcomings during practice. Which was surprising, since Kaoru was the epitome of the perfect kendo girl, pony-tail and all. Val sometimes supposed it was because she helped Kaoru transition to being just a regular girl at school.

Kaoru settled down next to Val and sighed, "You're so lucky to get so much extra attention from Leon-sempai."

Val rotated her head to look at her friend blankly. She wondered if Kaoru would say the same thing if she had as many bruises as Val at that moment. But just like most girls at the dojo, Kaoru was mesmerized by the silver hair and mysterious scar on his Leandros' arm. "You can have all of it if you want."

Kaoru thought about it then giggled. "Maybe if I pretend to mess-up as often as you do Leon-sempai will look at me too."

"You shouldn't. Sensei and Leon'll know that you're during it on purpose. Me on the other hand, they know I just suck."

"Val-chan! You shouldn't say that! You're just a little clumsy, that's all. I'm sure you'll grow out of it."

Val smiled. "Let's face it Kaoru-chan, if anyone ever actually does comes after me with a sword, I'm just going to run the other way."

"What a depressing thing to say."

"Myoujin-sensei!"

"Uncle!"

Myoujin loomed over the two girls, frowning. "That's four laps, up to the shrine and back, both of you. Now go."

"Yes sensei," the girls chimed, scrambling to their feet and darting off on his orders.

* * *

**16 years after Hitomi returned to Earth. **

"Please Hitomi."

"No."

"Puhlleeeeeease?"

"I said no."

"I'm your brother!"

Hitomi sighed and swiveled around on her chair, turning her back on Shigeru. Anyone passing by her cubicle would immediately see the family resemblance between her and the young man standing near her desk. Though he had a much lighter shade of honey colored hair, he had the same moss green eyes as his sister.

"That's why I'm not going to let you set me up with anyone!" Hitomi shut down her computer and started collecting her papers. The workday was over and the building was mostly empty by then. "Besides, why do you need me for this double date thing?"

"Because, the girl has some silly rule of never going alone on the first date. So I figure, what's more trustworthy than bringing my own sister along? I swear you'll like the guy I've got for you. Please?"

"Sounds like she doesn't trust you already."

"But you should really see this tart." Shigeru grinned sheepishly at Hitomi's dark look, "Ok, I can see you're not exactly interested in that bit of information, but if you could just see her... Well, you'd understand why I need you to do this so much. I'm begging you Hitomi, don't make me get down on my knees."

"I take it this isn't someone you'd want to bring home to mom and dad."

"Tch," Shigeru leaned back against the cubicle wall and crossed his arms, beginning to get frustrated. "Since when do you care what you bring home to our parents?"

Hitomi looked up in shock as though Shigeru had just slapped her. Shigeru stared back at her in horror, only just realizing exactly what he had said. "Oh jeez Hitomi, I didn't mean it like that."

Unable to find any kind of answer to that, Hitomi suddenly made herself very busy organizing the papers in her out-box. Shigeru rubbed the back of his neck, "I tried to talk them into coming to the twins' birthday party you know."

"Yeah."

"You just have to give them some time."

Hitomi finally stopped her frenzied organizing and looked up at her brother. Her voice came quiet and strained, "Fifteen years?"

Shigeru laughed weakly. "Okay, a lot of time." He sighed when Hitomi didn't laugh back, "You have to understand what it was like. I mean, none of us even knew you were pregnant until..."

Hitomi shot up out of her chair, "So you hold it against Val and Rem!"

"Hey," Rem raised both hands as though to ward her off. "I think Val and Rem are the best niece and nephew I could ask for, but mom and dad are going to need to start feeling their mortally a lot more sharply before either of them start accepting any grandchildren."

He waited for Hitomi to subside a while before he said anything else.

"Look. You need cheering up anyways. Why don't you let me take you out?"

Hitomi cocked an eyebrow at him, "On that double date?"

Shigeru grinned, "Just killing two birds with one stone."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rem hissed and pulled away from his sparring partner, shaking out a twisted wrist.

He saw the flash of teeth behind his partner's helmet. "What's the matter, Rem-kun? Is your sister rubbing off on you?"

It was perhaps the finest insult someone could throw in the Kamiya dojo, comparing a person's swordsmanship to Kanzaki Valari's. Rem pulled his gloves off with his teeth to inspect his aching fingers then spoke through a full mouth. "Bith meh."

"You woke up grumpy today."

Finding no unusual angles on his hand, Rem replaced the glove. "No, you woke up annoying."

A nagging voice sitting next to his ear screamed illegal move! Illegal move! A voice Myoujin-sensei encouraged but never enforced. "There's a reason it's called satsujinken," he would tell his students, "There are no rules when it comes to life and death. Honor maybe, but never death. Understand that and you'll understand every opponent you come across outside this dojo."

That didn't mean Katsuro had any reason to try and break every bone in Rem's hand.

The next time Katsuro lunged, Rem stepped to the side and thrust back into the other boy's strike to disrupt, throwing him off balance. On his next step Rem slashed down on his partner's shoulder. Katsuro yelped in surprise more than pain.

"Shit Rem! That's not the kata we're practicing right-"

"Kanzaki-kun!" someone barked his name.

Rem turned around. Leandros stood nearby, wearing his "looks like I'm gunna have to take you down a notch- again" look. Rem winced. This was going to hurt.

Or maybe this time it wouldn't. Everyone at the Kamiya dojo knew about Leandros' handicap, that his right arm lacked some of the normal dexterity and was a great deal weaker than his other arm. The ragged scar from some mysterious childhood injury was still visible across his forearm when his sleeve was pulled back. Maybe this time Rem would finally figure out how to that to his advantage.

"Takani-kun, may I borrow your opponent for a moment?"

"Yes, Leon-sempai," Katsuro stammered, hastily getting out of the way. Kicking off his sandals, he hopped up on the dojo walkway overlooking the main practice yard where the students worked during the summer.

"One strike duel," Leandros announced formally, positioning his bokken at the ready and facing off with Rem.

"Go!" They lunged.

Their first few strikes were tests, drawn straight from the simple kata they had practiced since childhood. Because of their ongoing rivalry, Rem and Leandros liked to know the exact condition of their opponent when they finally beat each other. They had to know it was a fair fight after all.

Rem had had a long afternoon of practice at the dojo but he was well rested compared to the entire day Leandros had spent. And still he was moving faster than Rem, flicking away his probing strikes with ease. Rem could see the possibilities of attack floating around Leandros' and as usual there were way too many for him to sort through, let alone make a safe guess about what Leandros might do.

But Rem was getting better at reading his half-dreams, as he secretly called the strange visions he saw surrounding people when he concentrated. The occasional migraine was worth the advantages they provided him during practice. He was even beginning to understand that the web of chance wasn't as complete around Leandros as it was around people like Myoujin-sensei. There was a distinct gap at Leandros' right arm. If only Rem could figure out what to do about it.

Sword lock, he decided. If he could hold down Leandros' sword for just long enough, pin him, then he would be able to use his full strength against Leandros' weaker arm, maybe even disarm him.

Leandros was the first to drop out of the rhythm of the kata. He swung without warning for Rem's head and Rem's visions barely gave him enough warning to be able to duck out of the way. Rem felt his balance shift dangerously to left. _You're over extending your arms again_, he heard Myoujin-sensei's quiet instructions repeat at the back of his mind.

Rem retreated, trying to correct himself. But Leandros wasn't about to give him any time to recover. He advanced on Rem step for step, pressing his advantage with side-swipe for Rem's shoulder. _Come on_, Rem pleaded with his exhausted body as he blocked clumsily, _Just let me last four strikes into the actual duel._

Their swords locked for the briefest second, giving him his last chance. Rem knew something was wrong when Leandros didn't act the slightest bit concerned. Then he felt Leandros shift and he knew it was over. Leandros spun about, using the strength of Rem's thrust to supplement his own. All Rem could do was go through the bracing techniques for lessening the effects of a blow and hope that the upcoming strike wasn't going to be as bad as it looked.

Contact. Rem grunted as Leandros' bokken forced all the air from his lungs. _Damn, I knew I should have worn more padding today, _he thought as he fell to all fours onto the packed dirt ground.

Game set. Match. Once again Rem had failed to beat the Kamiya dojo's top student.

Leandros crouched down next to him. To Rem's surprise, he was smiling. "Well done," he said as cheerfully as if he and Rem had just shaken hands instead of trying to slaughter one another. "You surprised me a bit there."

Rem struggled a moment, trying to convince his body that something was wrong. Finally his lungs seemed to realize that meant them and released their clench hold. Rem drew in a long, wheezing breath. "Did you have to hit me that hard?"

"Yep."

His pride defeated, Rem allowed himself to collapse onto his stomach, wallowing in the now very painful feeling of air simply entering his lungs. "Damn fancy footwork."

Leandros chuckled gently, "It's called Ryuukansen. If you aim it for the right vital spot between the ribs, you can use it to knock out your opponent's breath and avoid any other confrontation. If I had hit you full-strength, you wouldn't have enough breath to move right now, let alone speak."

Rem burbled something unintelligible to show he was listening.

"Since I've shown you how, I'll assume you know how to use it from now on."

That was the one good thing about getting beat down by Leandros. He always demonstrated some kind of advanced move as though silently encouraging the other students to learn and mimic him. Rem smiled grimly. Katsuro would have hell to pay if he ever tried anything like that on Rem again.

"Now get out of here, Kanzaki-kun. Your sister went home an hour ago and you've been at practice too long as it is." Leandros noted Rem's condition, "Er, I mean when you can."

* * *

It wasn't an extremely long walk out of the park surrounding to dojo and back to the apartments, but an afternoon like that made it seem like miles. By the time he got himself up to the fourth floor, Rem was short-tempered from the pain and ready to collapse on the couch before dinner.

"I'm home," Rem called as he kicked off his shoes in the entranceway and leaned his kenjutsu equipment against the wall. No one answered. Rem wondered what was going on. Both his sister and his mother had to have been home by then.

He turned down the hallway leading to the bedrooms and found Hitomi's door partially cracked. He started to knock then thought better of it and decided to listen instead. Hitomi was talking to someone inside, "No, I don't need your help... It's all right. I've got everything under control."

"Listening at doorways?"

Rem jumped and whirled about. Val had just come out of their room behind him and was watching him with her arms crossed. He gestured roughly towards Hitomi's room, "She's doing it again."

Val blinked quizzically, "Doing what?"

"Talking to herself."

Val's expression turned skeptical and she stepped towards the door, leaning her ear towards it. "I won't do it," she heard Hitomi say sharply. "And I won't let you either."

Val leaned back and frowned at her brother, "She's talking on the phone, dumbass."

"She's not high enough in the company to talk to anyone like that and you know it. Come on Val, you've heard her do it before."

"Rem, she's not the one who's nuts." Val flicked her twin's forehead playfully, "You are."

"Oh yeah?" Rem stalked after her down the hallway and into the living room. He pointed furiously down at the coffee table, where Hitomi's cell-phone rested, "Then what do you say about that?"

Val rolled her eyes, "It doesn't mean anything and you know it."

"What are you two arguing about this time?" Hitomi sighed as she came out of her room.

It was pointless to try to hide the fact that they had been arguing. But it was another thing altogether to let their mother know what they had been arguing about. Rem shifted gears seamlessly. "And another thing, I'm getting flack yet again at the dojo because of you."

Val blinked. "Me? What the hell did I do?"

"What's going on?" Hitomi insisted.

The twins continued, pretending not to hear her. "You're a slacker, just like always. And that image is rubbing off on me."

"Hey, I work just as hard as-"

"No Val. If you were even _trying_, you'd have actually shown some kind of improvement by now. Do you realize you're the only one of your age group who still practices exclusively with the shinai?"

"Oh no, this isn't all about me. You've earned whatever reputation you've got. How many times have you gotten over-arrogant in the middle of a fight? Besides, what's the big deal? There's more to life than kenjutsu, you know."

"It's a big deal because we could be so much better than that. With the two of use together, we could have the power to-"

Hitomi's eyes narrowed. _Power_. She had never liked that word. "Oh stop it, both of you. You're just like your father!"

The twins cut off and stared at her. It was never a good sign when Hitomi mentioned their father. It was like firing a warning shot saying they had better shut it and start listening carefully to her every word.

"Rem leave your sister alone about the dojo. It's Myoujin and Leon's job to drill her, not yours," Val had started to smirk at her brother, thinking that she was off the hook until Hitomi pointed at her. "And Val. Try harder."

"Yes Mom," the twins said quietly in unison.

Then Rem noticed what his mother was wearing. Her skirt was much shorter than anything she might have worn to work and the top was lower and distinctly more complimenting. "Why are you all dressed up?"

Hitomi shrugged, "I'm going out."

"Out where?" Rem pressed.

"On a date."

Val brightened instantly. "A date? With who?"

"Someone from work," Hitomi smiled, catching her daughter's excitement, "Your uncle..."

"Uncle Shigeru!" Rem said, "You're letting him set you up? Do you even know anything about this guy?"

"News flash Rem," Val teased. "That's what people do on dates, get to know each other."

Hitomi stood back, amazed that the twins had dared to explode on each other again within minutes. Rem glared at his sister, "Unless you're a psycho, then you-"

"You're acting just like an old man!" Val laughed.

"Well if I'm the only one who's going to show any sense-!"

"Enough!" Hitomi shouted, drowning them both out. The twins jumped and stared at her in surprise. Hitomi raised her voice even more rarely than mentioning their father. "Now. I'm going out tonight so don't expect me back until late. There's leftovers from last night in the fridge. Call Myoujin if it's something involving fire or blood."

"But-" the twins protested in unison as Hitomi stormed across the apartment and into the entranceway, pulling on her jacket.

"And try not to kill each other while I'm gone!" Hitomi slammed the door behind her.

For a long moment, they just stared after her. Then Rem broke the spell and wandered off towards the nook that served as their kitchen. They didn't say anything to each other about what had just passed between them. The twins always formed a momentary truce during dinner.

"Can you believe she's trusting Uncle Shigeru on something like this?" Rem mumbled, opening the refrigerator door.

"I think it's good that mom's going out," Val said, leaning her elbows on the counter. "She should do so more often."

"Hunh. You want the ramen or the beef stew?"

"Rem..." Val watched him rummage through the leftovers, concerned that he hadn't chosen to agree or disagree with her on that last comment. She couldn't understand why he was so worked up over this. "Don't you want mom to be happy?"

"Of course I want her to be happy!" Rem shot up out of the refrigerator, nearly beaming his head on the freezer door. "I just... I just want her to be careful too."

Val cocked her head at her twin, as though seeing him for the first time. She had always known that her twin was protective of their family, but she had always thought it was in the normal boyish manner of taking down whoever insulted his mother. Worrying about who she was dating was a little extreme. "What are you talking about?"

Rem hesitated, contemplating the tupperware in his hands like it was a work of art. Val studied the emotions playing across his face, confused that there would be anything her own twin would hide from her. Then he came to some kind of decision and shoved the tupperware back in the refrigerator. "Come on. I want to show you something."

He led her back down the hallway and into Hitomi's bedroom. Val hovered in the doorway nervously as he dodged the mess Hitomi had left scattered across the floor and opened the closet door. Then, without so much as an explanation, he pulled out one of the cardboard boxes buried in the back of the closet and began to dig through it right there on the floor.

"What are you doing!" Val demanded.

"Oh calm down. It's not like you've never searched through mom's room before." Rem blinked at his twin's stunned expression. "You mean you haven't? Christ Val, you need to live a little."

"I have been living," Val hissed, keeping her voice down as though Hitomi was going to burst through the door at any moment. "I just never realized that my brother was a delinquent along the way!"

"Please, it's not like I've ever taken her money or anything. I just want to find out- Ah, here it is. Take a look at this."

Rem handed her an official looking piece of paper. Crouching down next to her brother Val glanced over it and cocked an eyebrow, "It's mom's birth certificate. So what?"

"So, she's been lying to us." He gestured impatiently at the certificate when Val just frowned at him. "_Look at it!_"

Val sighed and reluctantly did as her brother ordered, trying to understand and see what his conspiracy oriented mind was used to seeing. Finally it bit her. "Oh."

"Kanzaki is her maiden name," Rem said quietly, nodding. "Whatever our father's name was, it wasn't Kanzaki."

"You don't know that," Val kept her voice quiet, not trusting her voice at that moment. "It's not like Kanzaki is a rare name. They could have been distant relations..."

"She's been lying to us about her age too."

Val rolled her eyes and shoved the certificate back into her brother's hands. She didn't want to look at it anymore. "Rem, a lot of women lie about their age."

"To make themselves older?" Rem asked pointedly.

Val's mind unwillingly called up the dates she had read, did the math. That meant... Val looked away.

Rem nodded again, seeing that she understood. "Don't you think she's a little young to be our mother?"

"So..." Val shot to her feet, shaking her head furiously. "So you're telling me our father was a slime who got a teenager pregnant then abandoned her. Fine. Now drop it already!"

Rem winced, his expression rueful as he gazed at the paper in his hands. "Val... Don't you want to know who our father is?"

"No. Especially not after this," Val said fiercely, clutching her arms around her stomach.

"How can you say that?" Rem murmured, "Leon always acts like he knows something. And Myoujin..."

Normally Val would have happily joined into a bash session about the old man, but in this case she was quick to jump to his defense. "Don't you dare try to blame this on Myoujin-sensei!"

"That's not what I meant! He just always seems like he's keeping some secret. Why does he drive the two of us so much more than anyone else? Why does Leon give us so much more attention? Has Leon _ever_ told you where the hell he's from?"

"He's from Japan, just like us!"

"Did he tell you that?"

"No, but-"

"Damn it Val, I just want to know why everyone has been lying to us!"

"Why do you always have to do this? Can't you just leave things be?"

"Val..."

"No Rem. We've lived this long without having a father. Whoever he was, we're never going to know him and mom isn't going to tell us anything. You have to let her move on."

* * *

Hitomi and Shigeru strolled down the sidewalk, having abandoned their dates fifteen minutes before. They were completely oblivious to the weekend crowds around them down the city blocks. Both of them were too stunned to even think about hailing a cab.

"That was awful." Hitomi said.

Shigeru grunted in agreement.

"No, I mean that was really awful. As in I'm never trusting your taste in people ever again, awful."

Shigeru shrugged, unconcerned. "At least it took your mind off your troubles."

"You took my mind of my troubles by giving me an evening full of other troubles?" Hitomi said, unable to believe how he was justifying the torture he had just put her through.

Shigeru tossed her a grin. "You're just angry it worked so well."

"Shigeru..." Hitomi growled, ready to throttle him like she had threatened when they were teenagers together. Then she sighed and crossed her arms, "When are you going to grow up?"

"At the last minute possible." Shigeru's grin faded a bit when he looked at her, "You really did seem distracted tonight though. What's wrong? The twins giving you trouble?"

"The twins always give me trouble," Hitomi joked, smiling. Then Shigeru gave her the first serious look he had in a month and her smile disappeared beneath a faint frown. "They're just... on edge lately. And Rem worst of all. Maybe you could talk to him, something man to man..."

Shigeru snorted, "Right, because I'm such a responsible role-model. Besides, what am I going to tell him? _You're_ the one who knows all the secrets he want to know."

Ignoring the mention of secrets, Hitomi sighed, "You're right. I'll talk to Myoujin-san."

"Well, the night wasn't a total disaster."

Hitomi thought of her date's face leaning in far too close to hers and shuddered, the punch lines from his awful jokes still ringing in her ears. "How's that?" she asked dryly.

Shigeru pulled his cell-phone from his pocket and twirled it like a magician on the backs of his fingers, his trade-mark grin back in place. "I got her number."

"Lemme see that," Hitomi held her hand out for the phone and Shigeru gave it to her proudly. She studied the number, glanced up at her brother, looked back at the number, contemplated how exactly to break it to him. "Uh, Shigeru? She gave you the number to the pizza place."

Shigeru snatched the cell-phone back and stared wide-eyed at the screen. "Your right," he breathed after a moment. "I can't believe I didn't recognize the number. I order take-out from there all the time."

Hitomi tried to force down her laughter but a tremble of emotion quirked the edges of her lips. Shigeru looked over at her sharply, "Say anything and I'll shoot you."

Hitomi ignored the threat, bursting out laughing.

"Why couldn't I have gotten a more sympathetic older sister?" Shigeru groaned up at the sky.

Hitomi patted him on the shoulder. "Because you wouldn't survive without a sister who can bully you into doing the right thing."

They walked another block in silence, content just to let that evening's memories fade into oblivion. Then:

"Hitomi?"

"Hm?"

"Wherever it was... Wherever you went all those years ago... Well... I'm glad you came back."

Hitomi stared at her brother in surprise. Then she smiled gently. "Yeah. Me too."

* * *

**AN:**I'd love to hear what you think, so please review!I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

If there's any term you didn't understand, just check the glossary. I tried to make it amusing as well as informative ;)

**Next Chapter: **"But I don't have visions anymore!"- Hitomi

**Glossary:**

bokken: Wooden sword, used most often by more advanced students. In ancient times wooden swords could be sharpened to cut in a similar manner as steel swords. In modern times, not so much, though there is the danger of severe injury (broken bones, etc.) if two people were to get sloppy. Kinda like fire, or any weapon for that matter.

-chan: An honorific used for and among girls. Normally used with their first name. Since he prefers to be fairly formal with the Kanzaki family, Leandros uses Valari's last name. Hey, he needs _something_ to distinguish between Rem and Val when he's shouting at them during practice.

-dono: an honorific indicating great respect and a high position, even bigger than –sama (though I haven't actually used that one here, oh well)

kata: form, a structured exercise

kenjustu: swords arts. Focuses more on technique and less on philosophy than kendo.

-kun: Masculine form of –chan.

padding: Just like in European-style fencing, kenjustu students wear mesh helmets, chest protectors, and whatever else they feel is necessary to guard them against the impact of strikes during bouts and practice. But due to Myoujin-sensei's teaching style, he sometimes "forgets" to encourage his students to put them on. I'm sure he's breaking some kind of regulation somewhere.

Ryuukansen: literally dragon spiral strike. Congratulations! If you're checking this you must be a Rurouni Kenshin fan and you're about to tell me that this move belongs to Kenshin and his Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, not Kaoru's Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Well sure. But what I'm portraying here is the Kamiya style as passed down by _Myoujin Yahiko_ (and perhaps Kenji?), who most likely would have incorporated the knowledge he gleaned from Kenshin into his lessons. I fail to note this in the actual text of the story because, well, why would my characters be talking about Himura Battosai?

-san: pretty much Mr. or Ms.

satsujinken: the philosophy in which swords are used by the strong against the weak, mostly involving the taking of life. As opposed to kastujinken (swords that give life), which is taught by Myoujin at the Kamiya dojo in order to protect the weak.

-sempai: Used with superiors (upperclassmen, higher ranked students, etc.). Since Val and Rem have known Leandros since they were kids, they only feel the need to use this in the setting of the dojo.

-sensei: Teacher, professor, sometimes even doctor. I'm afraid the "–grasshopper" corollary is just an urban legend.

Shigeru: In the tv series, Hitomi tells us she has a mother, father, and little brother. In some disk versions there are even scenes that show Hitomi's mother. But I haven't been able to find any kind of name for Hitomi's littler brother ANYWHERE. If you can tell me what it really is and site your source, I will be eternally grateful!

shinai: bamboo sword. Since there isn't much risk of serious injury, you'll often see beginners using these. There is still a chance for some nasty bruises/broken noses if they're used improperly or with malicious intent. These kids are learning how to use weapons after all.


	4. Ch 3: Experimental Seer

Refugees and Kings

Chapter 3: Experimental Seer

In which there is finally contact between the worlds

* * *

"You're not concentrating."

THWACK!

"Darn it Val!" Rem pulled away from his sister, tearing off his helmet in order to better address the young man attending them. "You tell her!"

Seated nearby cross-legged at a tiny table that stood just off the ground, Leandros had peacefully been reading the newspaper and sipping at a cup of tea. Or at least as peacefully as he could with two students trying to kill each other on the practice mat across the room.

Myoujin and Leandros tried to make sure that each of their students managed a private lesson with an instructor at the dojo at least once a week. Since they were twins and perfectly matched to each others' height, Leandros usually took Val and Rem together. Only ten minutes into the session and the twins were already at each others' throats. A bad sign. Usually they lasted at least a half an hour before the bickering began.

With a sigh, Leandros straightened off the ground and motioned for Rem to hand over his bokken. "Still hurting from yesterday?" he asked sympathetically, meaning the hit Rem had taken during their bout together.

If it had been true, Rem would have made some kind of response to that jibe. As it was, Rem just waved him away and sank back against the wall post.

Leandros frowned. "I've told you before not to come to practice when you're having those headaches," he said severely.

Rem closed his eyes and continued to ignore him. Val stuck her tongue out her twin. Forcing down another sigh, Leandros positioned himself across from Val and settled easily into fighting stance.

But Val hesitated. "Leon-sempai... You're not wearing any armor. I don't want to hurt you."

Leandros gave her a small smile. If this were a simple sparing match, there would have been no reason for concern. Leandros was so much farther advanced than Val that he could block anything she threw at him. Now, since the kata required him to lower his guard long enough to demonstrate where she should strike, there was a suddenly a very real possibility of Val accidentally injuring him.

"That is why you have to focus, Kanzaki-chan."

* * *

Someone had been going through Hitomi's things.

By the time Hitomi had gotten back home the previous evening, both of the twins had already gone to bed. She didn't know how exactly she knew her closet had been picked through. It just didn't seem right. Everything looked shifted around.

It would have been dangerous to start throwing around accusations at that point, especially given the mood the Kanzaki family seemed to be in lately. She would just have to wait until she had proof. When she did find the culprit however, that twin would be so grounded Hitomi might as well nail their nose to the ground.

She doubted if it had been both of them involved. The twins knew how to work in tandem on some projects, but only when it consisted of a large amount of mischief. And this hadn't been anything near that level, at least it wouldn't have seemed that way to them.

When she had realized something was wrong, Hitomi had rushed into her closet and started digging. She had nearly fainted with relief when she found the old jewelry box, still locked and buried beneath a pile of old papers. Just to be safe though, she took it with her the next morning to work.

Now that same troubled feeling came back to her as she sat at her desk in her office. She wasn't an extremely important employee in the company, but just that year she had managed to sign a shoe marketing deal for one of their clients, a national baseball hero, that had earned her the office with the window. Once she had put all her file cabinets and her desk into it, the space was still crowded and the view of the street below wasn't much, but Hitomi was grateful for the sunlight streaming in.

The jewelry box that she normally kept hidden at the back of her closet was resting on top of a cabinet. Inside, Hitomi knew, there was what someone might have thought was a normal looking pendant. A normal sparkling pink ruby at the end of a non-descript golden chain. It wouldn't even seem that valuable to sell. There didn't seem much reason to lock it up.

But Hitomi knew better. The pendant could be dangerous in its own way. If a person wasn't wary of their own thoughts, it might whisk them away to another world before they could say...

"Van."

And as Hitomi gazed at the locked jewelry box, that troubled feeling she had thought disappeared upon finding the box started to grow once again.

"One of them touched you, didn't they," she whispered at the box, a sick feeling in her stomach.

Someone knocked at the office door, jolting her from her thoughts. "Kanzaki-san?"

Hitomi hopped up to open the door, "Oh hello Amano-san"

Amano was one of the few friends from high school Hitomi had kept contact with. In that time, he had grown into a fine young man. The only sign of the playful streak still inside of him was the way he kept his hair at shoulder-length, reminding Hitomi all the time of a certain Knight of Caeli.

"Er, what can I do for you?"

"You're remembering the meeting in fifteen minutes?"

"I-"

Something crashed behind her. Hitomi glanced over and found the jewelry box had slipped seemingly on its own to the floor.

"Is something wrong?" Amano asked in concern.

"Something fell, that's all. Everything's fine. Uh, I'll be right out," Hitomi rushed, shutting the door in his face without any more explanation.

Leaning against the doorframe with a sigh, Hitomi eyed the jewelry box like it had transformed into a demon. She couldn't understand why these feelings were coming back now. She hadn't felt this way in over fifteen years. Nothing had _happened_ in over fifteen years. Why was it all flooding back just because someone had gone through her things? No, because she _thought_ someone had gone through her things. Perhaps she was just being paranoid.

Besides, there was work to be done. She couldn't let these silly worries dominate her mind. Hitomi stooped and picked the box up.

A tingle ran over her skin and down her spine. Hitomi fell backwards and gripped the edge of her desk as she noticed that a faint glow was coming out of one of the edges of the jewelry box. In horror she realized it must have cracked during the fall.

_I knew I shouldn't have touched it! _Hitomi berated herself as light flooded the room.

* * *

"Ariel One this is ground control confirming your position. Approaching the moon's shadow in 20 seconds. Out."

Confirmation chimed in from Seraf's partners waiting inside the shuttle, their voices crackling with radio static. "All right, Petrovitch. Get over there and start work on those solar cells immediately."

Lieutenant Miroslav sounded bored. Seraf didn't blame him. This was probably the most routine part of their mission. Solar cells were a cinch to reinstall. As the youngest member of the shuttle crew, Seraf had drawn the shortest straw so to speak and was forced to do the menial tasks.

"Roger," Seraf responded, using the phrase the cosmonauts had learned from working with the Americans on the space station.

At least it was a great view. This was something that most people only dreamed of in their lifetimes. As part of the Russian space program, Seraf was able to be one of the lucky few that saw it in person. He could make out a curve of Earth just behind the moon but most of what he saw was stars.

The research satellite drifted not too far away among them. Normally satellites were set in orbit somewhere safely between the Earth and the Moon. The Russians' mission was not only to retrieve and repair the errant technology, it was to figure out what had suddenly drawn the thing out into space in the first place.

Seraf glanced down, or at least where he supposed could serve as 'down' in free-space. Commander Sevastyan gestured to him through one of the shuttle's port windows, giving him a thumbs-up. Seraf waved and pushed off the shuttle roof.

Firing his thruster pack multiple times, he maneuvered into position with the satellite. From there it was easy to find the right panel to open. "Very cute, Petrovitch. Just get to work will you?" the lieutenant grumbled over the radio, apparently watching from a distance the brilliant juggling job Seraf was performing with his tools.

"You're just jealous you can't do this good a job in zero gravity," Seraf shot back. Just as the panel finally gave, the Moon's shadow whispered over him like a cloak.

His suit's computer beeped and said in a computerized androgynous voice, "Heat distribution activated."

_Yeah?_ Seraf thought to himself and he glanced up uneasily into the black Moon now filling the view above him, _Then why did I just get a chill?_

* * *

Hitomi blinked but her vision didn't clear. At the edges of her sight she could just make out hazy details of her office. The center, however, presented her something very different. Without thinking, Hitomi took a step backwards.

It was a sensation akin to bumping into something, except instead of stopping she went straight through. Desperately she pulled herself away from what must have been the edge of a wall. "Ky-" she began to cry out then clamped a hand over her mouth.

She was in a vast room, or at least one that felt vast because the darkness hid the contours.

"Please not Gaea," Hitomi whispered.

The weight of the jewelry box still rested in her left hand. Hitomi glanced down. Nothing was there. Experimentally she squeezed her right hand. There it was- the edge of her desk she had gripped just before touching the box. Was she really still in her office? How was this possible?

Wherever she was, Hitomi could see the outlines of machines made from what looked like outrageous mixes of steam power, electronics, and something else that seemed to break the very rules of physics. They lined the edges of the light and moved off into the darkness. The air hummed with their work. What light there was flickered as human figures moved.

"You!"

Hitomi jumped and looked up. A young man in a black lab coat was advancing on her from the circle of light beyond the machines.

"Wait!" Hitomi stammered, "I don't think you..."

He stepped right through her.

Hitomi dry wretched onto the ground, glad that work had forced her to skip lunch that day. She never wanted to feel another human being like that again. Never. It took her a long moment to decide which bones were hers and which were phantom memories of whoever it was that had shared the same point in space with her for seconds. What was the pendant trying to do to her anyways?

"Get out from under there. We're ready to begin."

A little man, greasy from work, crawled out from under one of the machines, frowning at the lab coat, "Yeah, yeah, I'm done here."

The pair headed back to the light, leaving Hitomi in the dark trying to compose herself. "I guess I don't have much choice," she gasped, clawing her way to her feet in order to follow them. She never remembered any of her visions being this long or this linear before. The splitting headache was certainly familiar though.

A group of people dressed similarly to the young man in black milled about the area that was well light. Each seemed to be going about his or her business until slowly, they grouped around a panel holding a single rectangular jewel, alive with its own blood red light. Some held their breath though Hitomi heard others whispering amongst themselves.

"I wonder..."

"Perhaps this time at last..."

"Just wait..."

The jewel's light began to sputter then faded to dull brown. The young man that had gone through Hitomi stepped closer and reached up a finger to tap it experimentally. The color didn't change. He sighed in frustration, "There goes another one. Wherever they're going, they're not living long enough for me to find out."

* * *

Seraf jerked suddenly, gasping, "Yah!"

He went back to his work on the open panel immediately, regretting having made any noise what with both the shuttle and the ground listening to him. "What is it?" Commander Sevastyan demanded.

"Just space trash… I think."

Silently, Seraf checked again. He craned his neck to take in the Moon above him, then the Earth below him. There was nothing, he told himself. Nothing but him, the shuttle, and the stars.

His memory flashed of its own accord, a pale arm from just above the elbow slipping in then out of the corner of his view. He thrust the thought away. Why was he letting this get to him! There was nothing else out there and he knew it.

Laughing at himself, Seraf finished, "You just don't expect anything to reach out and bump into you in a place like this."

Back at the shuttle Sevastyan and Miroslav glanced at each other. "Take cover if needed," Commander Sevastyan shrugged.

Seraf turned from the satellite and looked out into open space, trying to discern if he should. He frowned. The stars didn't look right, as though there were large dark blotches interrupting his view. Seraf reached into his utility pack and removed the industrial sized light. If there was going to be an unexpected meteor shower, he had to know now to get out of the way.

He froze. His breath cut off and suddenly his suit was filled with silence. His spotlight darted out among the blotches.

Back at the shuttle the Lieutenant Miroslav, a young man in glasses, swiveled away from his monitor, calling urgently for the commander. "Sir! His heart rate just shot through the roof!"

Commander Sevastyan drifted into the cockpit and took over the comm. "What's wrong? Petrovitch, respond!"

Seraf clutched at the satellite, his eyes squeezed shut. _I mustn't be sick_, he chanted inwardly, as though remembering a memorized textbook, _I mustn't be sick. If I am, the air in the suit will be contaminated. The vomit will enter my lungs and I'll get pneumonia. Or worse- I'll choke and die...-_

The commander's shout interrupted him. "Petrovitch. I said report!"

"Shuttle," he struggled, swallowing hard, "Do you have visual?"

Commander Sevastyan glanced at his lieutenant. The young man shrugged and shook his head. "We need his light."

"Do you copy that Petrovitch?"

The commander waited for an answer. When nothing came, Lieutenant Miroslav switched off the radio. "Should I suit up and get out there after him?" he murmured.

Commander Sevastyan thought about that then flipped the radio on over Miroslav's shoulder. His tone finally softened, "Work with me Seraf."

The commander felt so far away to him as Seraf tried to catch his breath. And part of him knew that Sevastyan and Miroslav really were too far away to help him. Though he felt as though his entire body was shaking uncontrollably and all he wanted to do was curl up into a ball, somewhere Seraf found the will to roll over on his back and point his light out into space.

The two men stared down in horror at their screens, whispering, "My God!"

A beam of light traveled among a floating graveyard, illuminating in individual succession each human figure, contorted and frozen in their own personal death pains.

* * *

"Another failure?"

The group around Hitomi parted suddenly, revealing a sharp cut figure. He stood just at the edge of the light, casting much of his face in shadow. Impossibly his navy blue garments drew the darkness about him even more than the black coats the others wore.

Hitomi gazed at him, picking up the apprehension the others had towards him. He had a look of refinement about him and he held himself as though in perfect control of his surroundings. His face looked young, but that was betrayed by his severe expression and the faint lines of gray running through his ebony hair. Moreover, his old world clothes looked completely out of place among the machines and scientific looking apparatus surrounding them.

"All right," Hitomi wondered aloud, her confusion fermenting into frustration. This newcomer made her want to retreat and she had to consciously remind herself not to back into any walls, "Why am I here? Why am I seeing you?"

The man paused. A frown touched his eyebrows and his eyes shifted, focusing directly upon Hitomi. She jerked.

"C- Can you see me?"

One of the lab coats finally found his voice. "My Lord Constantine, I don't understand how this could have happened. The theories..."

"Are obviously incomplete or totally incompetent," Constantine finished for him coolly. His gaze slipped off of Hitomi to rest on the speaker. His frown remained.

"Keep trying."

"Yes my lord," the lab coat ducked away hurriedly, obviously happy to be out of the way of the other man's cold inspection.

Hitomi desperately tried to get her hand to release the jewelry box. But her muscles weren't listening to any commands. Without much other choice, Hitomi followed after the scientist curiously.

There was a barred off pen just to the side of the panels. A half-dozen or so people huddled in the shadows inside. The white of their eyes reflected the light as they gazed out at the machines.

The lab coat stalked past them, escorted by two guards. He gestured into the pen in passing. "Use the girl."

The guards threw open the door and the rest of the people shrank away. A girl with ratted red hair was taken screaming and struggling.

"No! No! I don't wanna! Please no!"

At first Hitomi watched without understanding. Then the lab coat's words came back to her. _Wherever they're going, they're not living long enough for us to find out_.

"Stop it!" Even though Hitomi had sworn she never wanted to feel that sensation again, she reached out to grab the man's wrist. Her hand passed right through and did little except made her feel as though the appendage had turned into some mutation instead of a real hand.

"Do something!" Then Hitomi saw the prisoners were too far past trying to help her. They only seemed capable of watching the girl being dragged off with the macabre interest of the condemned viewing what was very soon going to happen to them as well.

"Put her in."

The guards threw the girl into a circle created on the floor by polished tiny pyramid stones. She tried to run but a sickly yellow barrier flared to life as she touched the edges of the circle. She pounded her fists helplessly against it. Constantine and the others watched her dispassionately.

The light muted the girl's cry, "Let me go!" Then she blinked, her gaze clearly focused on Hitomi, "Who are you?"

"Never mind that," Hitomi said as she rushed forward. She reached for the girl, not quite sure she could even touch her but certain she had to try. The barrier crackled violently at her touch, sending bolts of tiny lightning up her wrist. She yanked her hand away with a cry and staggered backwards.

Wincing, Hitomi realized that every single eye in the room had focused on the spot she had been seconds before. "What was that?"

"A hand made of light!"

"It was just your imaginations," Constantine snapped.

The lab coats jumped at the warning in his voice. The group began shouting out orders to one another over the roaring machines. Steam whistled into the air, blocking the light further until the room was lit by nothing more than the pallid glow of the circle.

"All right. Now try it in sector four-four-eight..."

"Right. Initializing."

"Make sure that gauge isn't..."

"Where is that..."

A cloaked figure began droning in a language Hitomi couldn't understand.

"Make them stop!" the girl pleaded.

"Just hang on," Hitomi called to the girl as she dashed back for the machines. She picked the first panel that looked promising, a panel of gears and wires that seemed to be doing a lot of work. Hitomi tried to yank out the wires.

She didn't feel anything other than the nauseating feeling of being in the exact same place as something else solid.

"This is Gaea! I'm holding the pendant!" Hitomi shouted, throwing her fists at the machine with no effect. "My thoughts have power, damn it! Now think solid!"

She swung at it once again.

"Ouch!" Hitomi sucked on a bruised knuckle. That time she had met resistance and the gears jerked.

"That's it!" Hitomi brightened and began kicking away at the machine. The gears began to tremble. "Don't. You. Dare. Hurt. Her!"

That time the gears rattled and groaned to a halt under Hitomi's last kick. But instead of falling apart as Hitomi had expected, they simply slipped into a different confirmation and began turning in a different direction. _Oh no..._

The sound attracted the attention of one of the scientists and she peered back at the machines. "Hm?" the young woman glanced around the area Hitomi had been trying to destroy then shrugged, "Damn rats.

Hitomi whirled about to look back at the girl. What had she just done? Exhausted from trying to fight her way out, the redhead knelt off to one side in the circle in defeat.

"Something's happening!"

The girl's sobbing cut off. She looked down in shock at her hands as they began to dissolve.

"It's working!"

The smoky light enveloped the girl and she cried out once more to Hitomi.

* * *

The vision only lasted for seconds but Seraf was certain the first thing he saw in his new world was a woman with honey brown hair fade away like smoke. Then the woman was replaced by a dozen or so forms, male and female, all staring at Seraf with similar expressions of shock. Suddenly the world was pressing in on him very hard.

Gravity. He was under the effect of gravity again. Seraf collapsed to his knees, wishing very much that the suit wasn't blocking him from burying his face in his hands. "I'd like to wake up now," he choked.

* * *

Hitomi tossed the jewelry box away from her and across her office. It glanced off the corner of her desk, shattering the hinges from the wood. The ruby pendant and its liquid gold chain spilled out onto the floor. She didn't dare go to collect it.

If simply being in the _light_ of the pendant was enough to cause what Hitomi had just seen, there was no telling what might happen if she actually touched it.

* * *

Somewhere on a busy street surrounded by buildings, there was a flash of yellow and a little girl with flaming red hair came into being in the middle of the street, exactly in a space that had been empty a moment before. She blinked wildly at the new world around her then started to wail.

The rectangular ruby jewel in the panel back in the laboratory was pulsing with the strong red fire of life.

A sickly yellow light flashed behind Val's eyes.

Something was wrong.

But how was that possible? The dojo was comparatively quiet that afternoon, but she could still hear a hand full of other students practicing in the adjoining rooms. Things had been relatively peaceful at Myoujin's place that day and for once the lower level students like Val weren't being drafted into cleaning up the various messes and structural damage the upper level students tended to create.

Everything had been peaceful. But that didn't stop Val from suddenly being completely sure that something was wrong.

In the middle of blocking a thrust for her shoulder, Val halted and let her bokken drop to her side. If she had been sparring with anyone else, she would have gotten beamed across the head. As it was, Leandros stepped back gracefully as though even her most sudden movement was unable to surprise him.

"What's up?" Leandros asked blithely.

Val frowned at a point in the air and cocked her head, listening. Didn't he hear that? Someone was calling... someone was crying as though they had just found themselves in a cage. Val hated cages.

"Leon-kun..." Val murmured, not sure why she was asking, "Where are you from really?"

He blinked at her, hardly recognizing the game they had played as children. "What?"

For one insane moment Val actually had the urge to growl at him. But she fought it down, shaking her head instead. "Never mind."

Another distant call sounded, driving her to lunge at him without warning. Leandros blocked her easily, chuckling, "All right. Let's continue."

Something was wrong. And what was worse, Val had no desire to stop it. It didn't matter to her that she was sparring at a speed she wouldn't have used on her best days at the dojo. She hardly noticed she was taking risks that made Leandros laugh outright in surprise. All she saw was that she had finally forced him to hold his bokken with both hands for the extra strength.

"Kanzaki-chan," Leandros said suddenly though there was no concern in his voice yet, "Ease off a bit."

She ignored him and slashed for his upper thigh at the same speed as before. He blocked once more just as swiftly and stepped forward into her defensive circle, locking blades with her. Nearly face-to-face she saw he was beginning to pant. How long had they been fighting like this?

"That was sloppy," he snapped. "What's gotten into you?"

Val smiled crookedly. Sloppy yes but he had fallen for it. She had seen him hesitate at the last moment. His heart wasn't in it when he was fighting her. This gave her the advantage. He would be dead soon enough.

Her heart began to pound at that thought.

She couldn't really have been trying to kill him. Not Leandros. Not Leandros who had kept her from jumping to her death when Rem had convinced her she could fly. Not Leandros who helped her when she was struggling the worst at the dojo.

Leandros who lied to both her and Rem. Leandros who kept secrets just like their mother. Leandros who refused to tell her who she really was!

What was she saying? Of course she knew who she was. Didn't she?

Part of her answered yes. Yes, she was Kanzaki Valari. But another part of her screamed for blood. Anyone's blood- Leandros' would do.

If only they hadn't decided to practice with bokken today. If they had been using shinai instead, there would have been no threat of actually hurting him. He would have to start taking her seriously very soon or she would start breaking bones- or whatever else she could manage.

"Kanzaki-chan!" Leandros' terse command sounded far away, as though he was speaking to someone else.

_Kanzaki_. Step. Step. Uppercut. Turn. _That wasn't her name._ Duck. Step. Feint. Block. _Was it_? She couldn't remember. _Who was this bastard and why wasn't he dead yet_?

"Ah!"

A sharp pain in her upper arm brought her back. Leandros had given up and finally taken one of the foolish openings she had been presenting him, taking her down with a solid hit. It hurt like hell but it was a sweet reminder of what the real world tasted like.

"Ow," Val whispered as she sank to her knees, clutching her left arm.

"I'm sorry." From the shocked and pale look on Leandros' face it seemed for a moment that he would join her on the floor. Then he turned, "I'll get the first aid kit."

He ran into Kaoru moving through the hallway. "What's wrong?" she demanded, seeing his face but he shot past her without answering. Kaoru ducked into the room then halted with a gasp. Only then did Val notice. Rem lay passed out in the corner nearby.

* * *

After much initial panic, Myoujin calmly assured Kaoru, Leandros, and Val that her twin was just sleeping. He must have been more exhausted than he was letting on to anyone.

Kaoru and Val had just laid him out on a comfortable futon when he began to stir. His bleary eyes met Val's as they opened. "Did-" he coughed and licked his dry lips. "Did you see that too?"

Val opened her mouth to reply then paused when she saw the look on her twin's face. His eyes were pleading with her. Just this one, they asked, I need you to tell me the truth. "Yeah," she admitted, "This time I think I did. Was that a vision?"

Then Rem came out of his haze fully and shot upright. "Shit! What time is it?"

"It's time for you to stay put," Kaoru said harshly nearby and tried to push him back down with Val's help. "Do you realize you just passed out in the middle of-"

"I can't be late for work!" Rem shook them off impatiently, snatching up his gi before ducking out of the room in a blur.

"Rem, if I so much as see one of your hairs at practice tomorrow I'm going to have your hide for sword leather," they heard Myoujin shouting after him in the courtyard. "Get some rest! You hear me?"

Val looked pleading at her friend. "I'll look after him," Kaoru rolled her eyes, getting to her feet to follow him.

With Rem having abandoned her, Val sat outside on the dojo steps nursing a fresh bruise blooming like a sickly violet along her upper arm. Her bokken lay at her right, discarded and forlorn. "You were really after blood today," came a warm voice from behind her.

It was a drastic understatement. All the same if Leandros hadn't been under total control, even with a bokken, he would have broken her arm. Val nodded lamely as Leandros sat next to her.

Val didn't look at him, trying to force away the twinge of she felt at what she had tried to do that day. Perplexed by her silence, Leandros shook his head and murmured, "Let me take a look at that arm."

With numb fingers, Val tentatively rolled up her left sleeve. Leandros grimaced at the sight of the tiny gash where sure brute force had broken the skin surrounded by purple and blue. "Didn't you put your armor on right?" he demanded.

Val shrugged, unable to remember. "It was my fault anyway," she said quietly.

Leandros sighed and began to rummage through the first-aid kit. "You shouldn't sulk like that, it doesn't suit you," he teased good-naturedly.

"I'm not sulk- Ow!" Leandros rubbed anti-bacterial cream into the cut before she could protest. "I'm not sulking!" she repeated angrily.

"Then what?" Leandros inquired mildly as he neatly wrapped a bandage over her arm. Val just shot him a stubborn glare and refused to answer.

"Is this because you're trying to convince Hitomi-san to let you stop taking lessons?" he said suddenly as he put an ice pack in her good hand to hold against the swelling.

Stung, Val flinched and turned to stare at him. She wondered wildly how Leandros had managed to find out. Rem probably told him. She would leave a fish in his bed for this.

For the first time Val caught something in his bright hazel eyes other than their normal liveliness. He was just determined to have it out wasn't he? But what could she say? That this was because she had just tried to kill him?

"Leon-kun, I- I've never had much talent for this kind of thing in the first place..."

Leandros snorted, "Seemed like you were doing just fine a minute ago. A little carried away maybe, but-"

"I'm tired of getting beat down every practice. I just don't want to do it anymore. Is that too much to ask?"

It was Leandros' turn to stare. His voice seemed to have abandoned him for a moment then he licked his lips. "No," he said quietly, standing, "No, I guess not. We just want you to be able to protect yourself Kanzaki-chan."

Val watched him stride off with mixed feelings. Leandros was completely dedicated to his art and she could hardly imagine him without his long blade at his side. He was the top student at the dojo and probably the only one that didn't look down on Val because of her inadequacies, including her own brother. Leandros had been the one to teach her how to treat the various minor injuries she received during bouts. She owed him a great deal and had only managed to disappoint him in return.

"Come on," Leandros said flatly a few minutes later after emerging from the dojo dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Val stared. She hadn't even been aware he owned any of that. "I'll walk you home.

* * *

Normally it was Rem that had to use the ice packs when he came home so Val had to hunt to find where her brother had hidden them.

They had walked to the apartment in silence, either of them unsure how to discuss anything that had just passed between them. But knowing each other since childhood paid off in this situation. The moment she was back home and in a more comfortable environment, Val began to gloss over the tension with random conversation.

"Hey Leon-kun, do you want to stay for dinner tonight?" she called as she tried to free a newly discovered ice pack wedged beneath a carton of ice cream.

"Thank you but I should be getting back to the dojo," Leandros answered as he leaned his bokken against the sofa, carefully wrapped in its carrying case so it would draw minimal attention on the street. "I'll just wait till Kanzaki-san gets back to keep an eye on you."

"Oh come on. It's been so long since you last stayed over." Val ducked out of the kitchen and cocked an eyebrow at him. "This is about my cooking isn't it."

Leandros smiled helplessly, "Uh..."

Thankfully the door opening behind him saved him from having to answer.

Hitomi, dressed in her tan work suit, came through the threshold and kicked her shoes off absently. There was a distracted look on her face but she pushed it away when she saw that Val and Leandros were watching her.

"Leon-kun! It's been a long time." Her gaze moved towards the living room, where his bokken was leaning against the couch. "Why are you bringing weapons into my house?"

Leandros jumped, "Kanzaki-san, I- That is..."

Val sighed inwardly. Leandros never seemed able to get in a word in edgewise when it came to Hitomi. When she was younger, Val had wondered if it meant Leandros had a crush on her mother. Even now she wasn't sure.

"He carries it with him everywhere, Mom."

Then Hitomi noticed the bandages on Val's arm, revealed by her rolled up sleeve. "Val! Are you all right? What happened?"

"I-" Leandros began. Hearing a tone of confession in his voice, Val hastily interrupted.

"Just an accident at the dojo. I'm fine." Val shot Leandros a look that said, _And if you set off my mother's over-protective instincts, this time I _will _succeed in killing you._

Hitomi cocked an eyebrow at her daughter. "You forgot to put your armor on right again didn't you."

"I- er."

"It's my fault, Kanzaki-san," Leandros said before Val could stop him. "Practice got a little out of hand today."

"To get this bad? What, did you attack her from behind or did she just flat out forget to block?"

Both Leandros and Val flushed at Hitomi's angry retort. It seemed they could try to be as vague as they liked, but Hitomi wanted a real explanation. "I, uh, used more force than should have been necessary to disarm Val-chan," Leandros admitted. "I'm very sorry."

"Disarm?" Hitomi could hardly believe what she was hearing. As far as she knew, Leandros could toy with Val in a match for as long as he liked. He would never actually be forced to go so far as disarm her. "You must be getting better."

Her mother's expression looked so relieved that Val couldn't bring herself to correct her.

* * *

The servants didn't bother bringing new candles to the rooms Lord Constantine had given to the kittens to play in anymore. The ones they brought never got used in the first place. The rooms were in the southwestern corner of the manor and Constantine had knocked out a few walls to allow for a large arena. Constantine's father had spent a fortune on windows that gazed out onto the western fields and Silver Moon, which was all but blocking part of the Mystic Moon that evening, streamed across the dark floor. Even with that sliver of light, the practice room was too dark for humans to function.

But Megaera and her siblings prided themselves on not exactly being human. Anyone who wasn't paying attention to the shadows darting across the thin mats on the floor might think the whispering forms were simply one young man and two young women who were particularly lithe. But a closer look would reveal startling characteristics.

Megaera and her siblings were creatures of a more feline nature. Supple tails began from the base of each figures' spine at the pelvis and extended down around their ankles. Smooth short fur cloaked their bodies and soft pointed cat ears topped their heads. Their sharpened fingernails held the threat of retracted claws beneath and whenever they tossed challenging grins at one another, long canines flashed.

The eldest, Alecto, was the fiercest of the group just because he was just that, the eldest. He was old enough to remember everything he lost during the fall of Zaibach and he never let his younger sisters forget. His was the darkest shadow in that room, since he had the same coloring of a black panther except for the few streaks where his flesh had met blade and the fur grew back a pale shade of gold. He had allowed the hair on his head to grow just past his shoulders, intermixed with braids, beads, and feathers.

He sparred with Megaera, the youngest of the three, and she met him blow for blow. She was put at a disadvantage with him only because of his pure strength, but on the level of skill they were equal. She was the easiest to see in the room, her red hair cut short about her chin to keep it out of her eyes.

Tisiphone, her coat a Russian blue, watched from the sidelines, moving only occasionally to duck out of the way when one of her siblings was tossed in her direction. She rested on one side, propped up on her elbow, her tail lolling lazily over her hip. A book lay open in front of her, which Constantine had bought back for her on the black market, one of the few books that had escaped from Zaibach and was in fact forbidden.

There was only one rule in the practice room - the blows could be as real as you liked but when you threw a punch, it was with an open hand, claws firmly retracted. Those kinds of maneuvers were restricted to battlefield situations.

Claws or not, Alecto was winning. He was just about to call the match off when the door opened, flooding the bare room with light from the torches in the corridor beyond.

"How are my kittens?" a warm voice asked.

"Lord Constantine!" Tisiphone was the first one off her feet to greet him at the doorway.

"Good evening Tisiphone." Constantine gave her a smile then surveyed Alecto and Megaera, the brother twisting his sister's arm behind her back and pressing her face into the tiles. "I see Megaera isn't doing so well."

"She did try, my lord," Alecto's canines flashed before he hid his smile for his little sister's benefit, "What do you say, Meg? Do you yield?"

But Megaera could only manage a defiant grunt into the tiles at that moment and a furious thrash of her tail. Tisiphone rolled her eyes, "All right, that's enough of that. Let her up."

Alecto ignored her and looked instead to Constantine. His lord gave a curt nod and Alecto obeyed immediately, releasing his sister. Megaera popped up without so much as a sputter. "Evening Lord Constantine," she said eagerly, "Have you come to play with us?"

"Megaera!" Tisiphone hissed.

"What? You want him to play too!" Megaera glared back at her sister then turned back pleadingly to Constantine, "Please my lord? It's been so long since you've joined us in the practice room."

"Not this time Meg. I have something more important."

The cat siblings cocked their heads in unison. Only then did they see the soft sheen of triumph in Constantine's eyes. The gray murky shade they had seen building about them as experiment after experiment continued to fail was suddenly gone. "What is it?" Alecto breathed.

"They've found it," said Constantine.

Tisiphone was the first to understand and she gasped, "A way to the Mystic Moon?"

"Yes," Constantine nodded. "Alexandra is performing the last adjustments right now. We'll be ready to send another traveler in a few hours."

"And my orders, my lord?" Alecto inquired, standing at attention.

His sisters rounded on him. "Who says you're the one who's going?" Megaera shouted, her hair bristling.

"Yes, do tell!" Tisiphone seconded.

Alecto produced his fierce, sharp grin and fell into a crouch, fists raised. "You want to fight me for it?"

"I can take you!" Megaera yelled, lunging for him. Tisiphone rolled her eyes once again and had to restrain her little sister by the shoulders. All the same, Alecto was surprised to see that even Tisiphone was having a hard time keeping her claws from coming out.

"No one's taking anyone anywhere," said Constantine, halting them. "I've already chosen Alecto for the assignment."

Megaera fell to her haunches in a pout. Tisiphone let her hands fall to her sides and glanced away, the only sign of her frustration. Alecto pushed his hair away from his eyes, suddenly unsure in the face of his sisters' disappointment.

Constantine's smile never wavered from place, oblivious to the sister's feeling, "Your orders, Alecto, are to destroy any children of the royal line of Fanelia."

* * *

AN: Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to review! It really means a lot to me to get feedback on this :)


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